


On the Run

by Quinis



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Gen, Kate Lives, Neal Caffrey is Bryce Larkin, Neal Caffrey is also Damian Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-07-10 03:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 51,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15940724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/pseuds/Quinis
Summary: At the end of Season 3, Neal Caffrey goes on the run. He has every intention of killing time on Mozzie's island getaway and then coming back a different person. But there's people in his life who won't let him burn Neal Caffrey that easily.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: This one is based off a comment K made on Unexpected Past over on AO3. I had an idea while reading it which I really wanted to try. So, here's another White Collar/Chuck/Batman crossover. This time, Neal Caffrey isn't Dick Grayson. This time, Neal is Damian Wayne.
> 
> The time this story takes place is in the future of Batman (Damain's grown up), after the series end of Chuck and after Season 3 for White Collar. I've placed the prompt at the end.

 

 

The dark haired woman slipped into her apartment. It had almost been a year since she moved to Burbank, LA. She had thought that she would never live anywhere but Gotham as an adult. Even though circumstances saw it that she settled her, her father was all for her living in a different city; any city that wasn't Gotham really, and LA was good for her job as a model.

Mar'i had to admit, she had a good arrangement going. She worked Buy More shifts when work was light and could take time off from the Buy More whenever her modelling work took up most of her time.

She looked at the door and frowned. The line she attached across the doorway had been snapped by someone who wasn't her. The playing card she usually slot into the top had fallen into the garden. Her door had been opened.

"Okay, whoever broke in, I hope you know who you're dealing with." She lit up her hand with a purple starbolt, her eyes glowing in anticipation of a fight and stepped into her house.

* * *

"You'd zap a thief with a starbolt? Isn't that overkill?" A familiar voice said. It has a slight British undertone and gave away the speaker's upper-class breeding.

"Damian?" Mar'i questioned, extinguishing the starbolt and switching on the light.

Damian was sitting at the dinning area table with a computer and numerous IDs in front of him. His dark hair was in disarray and his blue-green eyes didn't divert from his work before him.

"What happened?" Last she knew, he had been in New York and tied to a 2 mile radius. "Did you manage to get your sentence commuted?"

Damian's face grew stormy. "No."

Mar'i waited a moment to see if he would explain more. Then, when he didn't elaborate, she put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Then what are you doing here? Don't tell me you went on the run again?"

"Come on, Mar'i. The only reason I even ended up working for the FBI was because you got contacted by that corrupt FBI agent." After a pause, he added, "and then you got blown up."

Mar'i rolled her eyes. If he was pretending that the FBI job had meant nothing to him, then he really must not have wanted to talk about why he was here and not there. "That was part of Sarah's plan."

"Which Sara?" Damian countered with a sparkle in his eye. He knew how much that annoyed her. Mostly because he had pursued a relationship with both, one before her and one after. Sure, they had agreed to take a break since her father had been furious at him for using her as bait and almost getting her blown up but still, did she have to hear about Sara Ellis, the insurance investigator?

"You know which Sarah. You better not play this game with Chuck. I do not think he will like it."

"You don't seem to like it either," Damian mused. "And I won't be seeing Chuck."

Mar'i paused. Now that didn't seem like Damian at all. Even when Chuck flew into New York for just a couple of days to extract her, Damian had made the time to talk with his old friend.

"Why not?"

"I'm just hanging around while Mozzie acquires an island for us to hang out at for a while. I'll get a tan, maybe do some drug busts and then come back here as 'Damian Wayne'."

Wait a sec- "You're burning Neal Caffrey?"

"I have to."

There was no way Mar'i was letting him do that. Neal was the nicest of Damian's aliases.

* * *

Chuck frowned when his phone beeped with an alert. It came from one of the systems he had hacked into as a late teen.

The FBI. He thought they were doing better lately, since the incident with Fowler and Alder had managed to expose a number of corrupted agents. Even so, what he had begun to think of as his 'Neal Alert' had gone off.

Should he tell Mar'i? Neal was someone close to her heart after all. Although, Neal should probably contact her himself. But what if he didn't?

"You seem to thinking quite hard there," Sarah commented. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed her coming up to him.

"Yeah," he agreed. He winced as he heard the heavy tone to his voice.

"What happened?"

"Neal's on the run. The FBI is after him. Do you think I should tell Mar'i? Her shift starts in half and hour and I haven't decided yet."

Sarah thought about it. She got along with Mar'i alright however, the two were years apart and there was a gap there.

"I think the real question is if you're going to tell Beckman."

"Why?" The CIA's official stance was that Bryce Larkin was dead, not that he was running around as the accomplished criminal known as Neal Caffrey. The unofficial stance was that he was undercover indefinitely and was not to be approached.

"This will affect his cover. Same as the events just a year ago did."

"Yeah, well, how were we supposed to know that there was another person behind Fowler?"

It was only thanks to Mar'i's forethought that she had been able to escape the plane. An added escape hatch which activated when the explosions went off, regardless of who set them off. Plus, her higher heat resistance than a normal human and helped her survive the heat of the flames.

No one had expected Fowler to active the explosives. However, Fowler hadn't been the one in control. Control had been handed to 'the man behind the curtain', Vincent Adler. He was currently serving his sentence after Neal and Peter caught him.

"Come on Chuck, I know you're smarter than that. Not only is it a waste of taxpayer money to have the FBI chasing down an ex-CIA agent they're never going to catch, I'm also getting my face plastered almost everywhere."

Sarah breathed sharply in as Damian seemed to appear from almost nowhere. He was dressed in nice pants and a black turtleneck, similar to how he had looked when he had last visited.

"Actually," Mar'i stated from right behind them. Sarah breathed in again, heart racing. How did they manage to sneak up on her like this? "It seems Peter Burke is taking a step back on this one. It's keeping information from spreading quickly as other agents fight for the right course of action."

"I guess that give us some time to figure out what we're going to do," Chuck mused.

* * *

Damian sat with his legs crossed on the couch and a controller in his lap. He mashed away at buttons, the ninja-like character on the screen jumping and letting a number of kicks land on the opposing pirate-like character.

Next to him, leaning forward as he mashed away, was Chuck. Behind them, Sarah and Mar'i sat at the dining room table, both a little annoyed at how the boys were putting their gaming time above planning time.

"His flight leaves this evening and he's sitting there playing games," Sarah sighed, wondering what she saw in Damian back when he had been Bryce. It had probably been his confidence and how he kept this side of himself hidden.

Mar'i seemed just as grumpy. "We really should be figuring out what to do about Kramer. What if his goal was just to get Neal out of the White Collar office?"

"There's nothing we can do about that," Damian responded, wincing as Chuck landed a strike on his character and knocked him to the ground. "Kramer has us in checkmate."

"Or he has us in check and is bluffing a checkmate. Either way, we should analyse the board."

Chuck paused the game. "You know, your girlfriend is right."

Damian muttered, "she's not my girlfriend," under his breath.

Although Mar'i didn't hear that, she responded to Chuck's comment. "I'd be his girlfriend if he took me out on a proper date for once!"

Damian swirled around, almost leaning over the top of the couch. "Seriously?"

"Of course." Mar'i smiled, face slightly flush with embarrassment. What if he was just going to tease her about her crush on him?

Damian thought about it before saying that he would arrange something.

"Weren't you going to a tropical island this evening though?" Chuck mused.

"What to come to a tropical island with me?" Damian asked Mar'i.

Mar'i laughed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment from K on AO3 on Unexpected Past:
> 
>  
> 
> _Anyway, I really do like that idea of Neal taking Kate to Chuck for protection, and pretty much inserting himself into everything that came after season 3 while dodging Peter, Deathstroke and the League Of Assassins and his family - all which further complicates Chuck's life. But I don't think I could write it. I've lost track of who Damian is, so I can't catch his voice; I'm years out of date. But I would still love to see this as an actual story so - if you're interested in writing it, or know someone who might be, I'd be glad to read it._


	2. Chapter 2

 

Peter looked up at the knock on his door. Diana stood there with a blond woman in a suit next to her.

"Your appointment is here, sir," Diana announced drily. The office had been a cold place lately. Peter wondered if his team had realised he had let Neal run or whether it was just Neal's absence was weighing on all of them.

"Sarah Carmichael, was it?" Peter said, standing up to shake the other agent's hand. She had left her name when booking the appointment. "I apologise for my team, we're going through a tough time."

"I heard about that," Agent Carmichael responded. "Your CI returned to his criminal roots and cut his leash. I guess that would cause a loss of faith from your team."

Peter's chest hurt. Not only was she insulting him but she spoke like she knew Neal. "My CI was a good man. If he ran, then that means we, the FBI, failed to make him feel safe."

"Bold claims," Agent Carmichael commented as she invited herself in. "But I'm not here for that. I'm here about Agent Kramer."

"What? Why?"

"I wish to know more about him and his role in all this," Sarah announced. "After all, it's strange that an out of town agent would involve himself in another agent's affairs. Or the affairs of another agent's CI."

Peter wondered how much he could tell her. She hadn't identified where she was from, aside from 'a government agency'. Hughes had okayed his meeting with her so she couldn't be lying about her affiliation. Hughes would have warned him if that was the case.

"Kramer... was my mentor. That's probably why he saw fit to include himself in decisions regarding Neal."

Sarah was not impressed. Her expression remained flat as she looked up at Peter.

"I suppose you won't be surprised if I say that Kramer believes you know more about Neal than you're sharing."

"I already shared everything I know with the FBI," Peter countered. Neither of them were smiling now. "I thought this was about Phillip."

"It is." Sarah gave him a pleasant smile, as if she knew he was cornered. "Phillip Kramer seems quite interested in you and Caffrey. To the point where he was in New York for some time."

"Not anymore." Kramer had flown out shortly after Neal ran.

"Don't think it's over," Sarah informed him. "Keep your head down and solve cases. Forget about Caffrey." Whether it was a warning or threat, Peter couldn't tell. But he didn't appreciate it. It was the same advice Hughes had been giving him. If he wasn't listening to Hughes, he certainly wasn't going to listen to some unknown agent.

* * *

Casey was pleased with Sarah's performance. Chuck was not.

"Did you really have to be so vague?" he questioned. "It's not going to cause Agent Burke to stop."

"I don't think anything will," Sarah said. "It's obvious that he's still searching for Neal." She eyed Chuck. "Or am I wrong?"

Chuck sighed, cornered. He had looked over the information Peter had submitted about Neal. Even he thought Peter was holding back, despite knowing that Peter had no idea where Neal was. Casey had kept watch on the agent's house and even gotten in disguised as a telecommunications officer. It had been easy enough to locate the map Peter was using to find Neal. Casey was a little impressed when he saw it. Chuck was very impressed.

"So what do you think? Are we staying in New York or moving over to DC?" Sarah asked Chuck.

"I think we should stay in New York a little longer," Chuck commented. He was flipping through the FBI servers, looking for anything which mentioned 'Neal Caffrey' or anything submitted by the agents they were concerned with. "It seems Kramer's not done yet."

* * *

The dark haired man waltzed through the streets of Cape Verde. He paid Hector, the kid selling papayas on the street, some coin for his produce and walked into a local cafe. The girl behind the counter huffed when she saw him.

"Well, at least it's not a three man band," she commented, referencing an incident a few days after they landed on this island. In an effort to impress her, 'James Maine' had hired a three man band to play all her favourite songs. It had been slightly embarrassing when all she wanted was a meal with him. Not a meal with him and three strangers.

"It's a papaya," the man formerly known as Neal Caffrey commented with a smile as he tossed it to her. Mar'i quickly placed the glass she was cleaning on the bench and caught it.

"I can see that," she responded.

"You know, Hector makes a killing off that fruit stand," a bespectacled and balding man in a tropical t-shirt said from a nearby table.

"I'm aware," Neal responded at the same time as Mar'i said, "we know, Barry."

'Barry' ignored them and went back to his paper.

"You know he's trying to unionise the other workers here," Mar'i whispered to Neal. "My boss isn't happy."

Maya was sceptical of all their presences in her shop. However, she liked them despite it and even hired Mar'i when she mentioned wanting to work. Maya was attractive and Neal wondered if he might have tried to sweeten her up in another life. However, in this life, he was focused on Mar'i.

"Barry? He's harmless," Neal said with a glance in the man's direction.

"Viva healthcare!" Mozzie called out.

Neal winced as Mar'i's expression remained flat and her eyes glowed lightly.

"Mostly harmless," Neal corrected. He smiled at Mar'i. "So, are we on for tonight?"

"Let me check my calendar. I might be working," Mar'i teased.

"It's dinner on the beach,"

Mar'i sighed but there was a smile on her face. "Sure. Are you going to sit with Barry today?"

"Someone's got to keep the old man company." Neal made his way over to Mozzie. "So, Barry Soetoro, carefree treasure hunter. How's that gold doing?"

When Adler went after Kate and Neal, he had been after the directions to a sunken u-boat. A u-boat he found with Neal's help. Held at almost literal gunpoint, Neal had no choice but to help. While the stolen art and treasure were supposed to go to the CIA, the warehouse storing them was blown up. It turned out Mozzie had been behind it.

Even when Neal convinced him to give the treasure up, Mozzie had kept some of the smaller pieces to help fund their goals. That treasure had payed for their comfort and safety on this island.

"That's for me to know."

"And?"

"Just for me to know. You don't have the heart for business, James Maine."

Neal frowned. He knew Mozzie was probably keeping it a secret because they were in public. He had no trouble telling them in private how they were doing.

"You still miss New York."

There was no hiding things from Mozzie.

However, "what's regret gonna get me? Nothing. I'm not Neal Caffrey anymore. Neal Caffrey is a wanted fugitive. James is a rich, carefree island resident with a wonderful girlfriend-"

"I won't be your girlfriend for much longer if you don't find a way off this island," Mar'i commented. "While it's beautiful here, I'm not a fan of the carefree island life. I crave adventure."

Mozzie shook his head. Such sentiments were how Neal got arrested in the first place.

"Too reckless," Neal commented. "Especially since Peter hasn't given up."

"Really?" Mar'i questioned, having never really met Peter for more than a moment. He had managed to track Kate down, something Neal hadn't managed but, he had seemed grumpy. Reminded her a little of her dad to be honest. Although, that would explain why Neal liked him so much. "I guess he's a work-a-holic."

"Whatever your thoughts, we all agree that he hasn't stopped looking yet, despite the danger. Chuck reported that Kramer has sent another agent. This one is nasty."

"I still can't believe you hired our own private army."

"Chuck's not an army."

"That's what you think," Mozzie said before starting on his theories of CIA created super-warriors. Some of them sounded vaguely close to the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Mar'i took off her shoes before floating onto the beach. No one was around and it allowed her to get past the sand mixed brown with dirt and onto the lovely golden stuff before landing. She wiggled her toes in it, enjoying the sensations. There wasn't many beaches in Gotham or New York. The ones in Burbank were often crowded so she wasn't able to be herself.

"You're looking particularity glowy tonight," Neal commented from down the beach. She smiled and looked over at where he was constructing a sandscape of New York. She gasped and floated over.

"Wow. How did you do this?"

"Plaster moulds and a lot of sand," Neal responded. "It's the view from my old building."

"The one I never got to see." Mar'i sighed longingly. "I would have liked to meet June."

"I think she would have liked to meet you too," Neal responded. He held his hands out to her. "Mind lifting me to the table? I'd rather not disturb my art piece."

Mar'i giggled because the waves would wash it away eventually and he was careful enough to walk away without smashing it. However, she indulged him and grabbed his hands. Floating higher, she lifted him over to the table he had set up.

"Now, this is romantic," she commented, sitting down. There was a candle in the middle and the area was strung with lights.

"Glad you approve," Neal said, taking the seat across from her. He smiled as her hair lit with purple flames. "It's no five star restaurant in Gotham-"

"I don't need a five star restaurant, D."

"D? But I'm James here."

"I'm not shortening James," Mar'i huffed, hoping Neal would get the hint. She already knew a 'J'; her Uncle Jason. And 'N' was what people called her father when he was in costume.

Damian took a moment to work this out. "Fair point."

"Although, I will take a moment to say that I miss Batburger. I could really go for some Jokerized fries and Robin Nuggets."

"Robin Nuggets are for children."

Mar'i laughed. It was such a Damian thing to say. He insisted that even though she knew he liked the Bat-Mite Meals because they came with the toys.

"Did you call Chuck?" Mar'i asked.

Damian nodded, taking a bite of his food and chewing thoughtfully. Chuck had been surprised to hear from him so soon.

"And?"

"What?"

"What did he have to say about Barry's theories?"

"The superhuman soldiers theory?" Damian huffed. It sounded ridiculous but he had been part of the Intersect program. The plan had been to use the Intersect to create superhuman agents who could be whatever the Intersect made them. There was a reason Bryce had died twice in order to keep it out of the wrong hands. Mozzie's theories had been a little too on the nose for him to ignore. "I asked. Apparently, Chuck lending himself to their experiments over the course of his employment lead to the conclusion that using the Intersect to create superhuman agents is not feasible. The CIA did try but things went wrong with the candidates and then those who participated reported rather disturbing things about their time as human Intersects. Not to mention the mess it's made of not only Chuck's brain but Morgan's and Sarah's." He paused for a moment. "Hey! This isn't a work dinner."

"Well, what else could we talk about?" Mar'i mused. Damian motioned to his art. "Yes, yes, your sandcastle is very nice."

"Sandcastle? It's a masterpiece. Anyway, what do 'normal people' talk about on dates?"

"I don't know," Mar'i shrugged. "Their jobs? Their interests? Which girl they think the bachelor will pick in the latest season?"

"I have no idea what the last one is," Damian said flatly. "I guess it's work. How's your modelling going?"

Mar'i snorted into her drink. "Not very well. Didn't you hear? My boyfriend turned up and whisked me away to an island retreat without a care for my schedule."

"You could have stayed."

"Nah. Not as fun. Tell me about your meeting with the mysterious master of the island."

"Dobbs? He's not mysterious." Damian frowned. "He likes making ships in bottles."

* * *

Chuck listened over Peter's conversation with Agent Kyle again. The van was outside the Burke's house but the conversation had been recorded earlier that day, in Peter's office. The bug Sarah had planted when she met the agent was doing it's job alongside the bugs Casey had planted in the Burke's house.

"What's so interesting about that conversation anyway?" Casey asked.

"Shouldn't we be more interested in that map. I'm sure Burke just cross off another couple of places," Sarah mused.

"Coconut Palace," Chuck mused. "It's a place in the Philippines."

"Okay-"

"What's the relevance?" Casey grunted. He had seen Chuck google it moments before.

"I'd bet Agent Burke just crossed the Philippines off the list. And he knew to do that because of this conversation."

"With Agent Collins?"

"You know if that guy finds Larkin, Larkin's life will get much more complicated." Casey sounded almost excited by the prospect. After all, Collins was not known for bringing his targets home in one piece.

"Peter throws some information about Neal out there and Collins tells him that Neal's not in the Philippines. Peter walked away from the conversation with more information than Collins. I'm a little jealous of his skill."

"That's because you lack subtlety," Casey pointed out, thinking of all the times Chuck endangered a mission because he did or said something which had the potential of exposing them as spies.

[You want me to kick Collins' ass?] Mrs. Burke's voice echoed in the van.

Casey snorted. Sarah looked proud and Chuck had a sinking feeling. He didn't know why, maybe it was just because Mrs. Burke seemed ready to swing with whatever came her way.

[Hmm.]

[What are you thinking?]

[I'm thinking Collins isn't the only new agent hanging around.]

[You want to talk with Agent Carmichael again?]

[My gut says there's something she's hiding.]

"Oh boy," Chuck said under his breath.

"Do you really think Agent Burke will be able to get anything out of me?" Sarah questioned with a grin. No, Peter had no idea what was coming for him.

* * *

Collins also cornered Sarah, asking her who sent her. She played the competing bounty hunter, mirroring his own attitude at him and not giving an inch. Collins was still hunting through Neal's things and Sarah eyed his technique with distaste. He was leaving a mess as he rifled through things without a care for replacing them where they had been.

"No wonder he's a bounty hunter," she muttered to herself as she made her way up the stairs to meet with Peter.

[He's OIA, not a bounty hunter,] Chuck reminded her over the comm.

[With what he does, hunting down scum who run, he might as well be,] Casey commented.

"Agent Burke. I must say, I didn't intend to meet with you again," Sarah said to Peter. Peter invited her in.

"That's an odd thing to say, considering you left me your card."

"I'm aware. However, this is Neal. I figured the good-cop, bad-cop routine wouldn't work on you."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that you and Agent Collins are working together?" He was curious, not dismissive or angry.

Sarah stared right back with a challenging gaze. "If someone manages to locate Caffrey, I think we all win." Especially since he hadn't bothered to tell them exactly where he was going. Chuck only had a number he could use to contact Neal and only in an emergency. All other correspondence was through email.

Of course, she didn't like the idea of Collins getting to him first. Once Neal was located, it would become a race to his location. One she had no intention of loosing.

Peter nodded however, he pulled out a folder and passed it to her. "Here's all the FBI information on Neal Caffrey. Since we're all in this together, is there anything you can think of that would help?"

Sarah opened it and flipped through. It was the same useless stuff Peter had given the FBI when Neal had first run.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You would know more than me."

"In that case," Peter mused. "I would suggest talking to June, Neal's landlord. Although her interview is in there, she might have left something out."


	4. Chapter 4

 

Sarah tapped her foot angrily. She had listened to the conversation between her and Agent Burke over and over and couldn't figure out what Peter had gained from it.

"Do you think he actually intended for you to go and talk to June?" Chuck questioned.

Casey didn't really agree however, "you should at least talk to her to keep your cover of someone interested in capturing Neal Caffrey."

Sarah sighed, right when there was a knock on the van door. The three spies shared glances. Casey pulled out a gun and Chuck shook his head. Sarah reached for the knife concealed in her boot. Chuck placed a hand on her shoulder before going to open the van door.

"Oi, you idiot!" Casey grumbled in a quiet hiss.

"Hello?" Chuck said loudly enough to hide Casey's impolite comment. Standing outside the van was Elizabeth Burke. Chuck was surprised. "Should you be talking to us?"

"I ask myself the same question," El said. "I assume you are agents or some kind."

"FBI, ma'am."

El gave Casey a cool look. "Nice try."

"We could be here because of Kramer," Chuck pointed out. "Or because of Neal running."

"So you  _might_  be looking for Neal?"

"Not so much 'looking for' as 'keeping an eye on'."

"You're not doing a good job if you're here while he's not," El pointed out.

Chuck laughed.

"Oh great. He's making friends with the FBI wives now," Casey whispered to Sarah.

"Please, if you think you can help Peter find him, could you?" El pleaded. "Peter feels responsible for everything that happened and it'll destroy him if something happens to Neal before he can find him."

"What makes you think we'll do that? No offence Mrs. Burke, but I've spoken to your husband twice. Why do you think I'll help him?"

"Not you," El said to Sarah. She turned to Chuck. "You." She pulled out a picture and handed it to him.

Chuck opened the picture and his eyes widened right before he folded it quickly up.

"Where did you get this?"

"It's a photo of an old man who is supposedly in WITSEC. However, Peter had been watching his place before he left."

Chuck shook his head. Watching someone in WITSEC was a dangerous move. "Let me talk to Agent Burke," he said to El.

Chuck promised to go to the Burkes' house shortly after Peter returned home and closed the van door.

"Did you flash?" Casey asked.

Chuck nodded.

"What was it?" Sarah asked. "Should we change our course of action?"

Chuck shook his head. "I flashed on the old man in the picture. Let's just say there's something Neal didn't tell us."

"What's that?"

"The man was an SOE operative."

"What?" Sarah gasped. That was an old British spy organisation. How did Neal have connections to someone like that?

"It be bad for Larkin if the CIA caught wind of that," Casey pointed out in a pleased tone. "It calls his loyalties into question."

Sarah glared at him. "Bryce is many things, but he's not a traitor," she said.

Casey huffed and muttered about how he knew that.

* * *

Peter was surprised to open the door and find the blond Agent Carmichael standing next to a tall dark haired man. However, where Neal was suave and handsome, this man appeared more awkward and approachable.

"Agent Burke, this is my husband, also known as Agent Carmichael."

"Hi, you can call me Chuck," Chuck said, shaking Peter's hand. "We're here to help you find Neal."

Peter was baffled. A couple of hours ago, he had still been playing games of push and pull with Agent Carmichael and now she was showing up with another agent to help?

"What's going on?" he questioned.

"Your wife does a good 'good cop'," Chuck said.

"Chuck, that's not how good cop works."

"Yes, it does. She gave us a choice. That it was in our favour makes her a good cop."

Peter called back to his wife. "El, what did you do?"

"Nothing too special. Just showed them that photo Jones took." El looked smug. She invited the two agents in. "Although I'm surprised you agreed to help."

"Neal has told us a lot about you. He's really hoping to return to your side some day, although he doesn't expect it to be as Neal Caffrey."

"Considering what the FBI did, that's to be expected," Agent Carmichael said to her husband.

"Let's focus on finding Neal," Peter said, not really sure he wanted to know what they meant. "You're going to help?"

"Yes. You let him run. It saved him in the short term and left us with a problem for the long term," Agent Carmichael said.

"I'm sure we can find a way to fix it. Let's start with finding Neal," Chuck said. "I'm willing to help because there's something I need to talk to him about and I'm not good enough to locate him. Trust me, I've tried."

Chuck placed a pager on the table and explained that he used the pager to send a phone number to Neal when needed to talk to him. Neal would then call and they would talk. However, Neal was careful to hide all clues of where he was.

"So he's safe?" Peter asked.

Chuck smiled and nodded. It seemed trusting Peter was the right call.

Peter quickly put together a plan.

* * *

Something buzzed. Mar'i tried to ignore it and it buzzed again. It was coming from the bedside table.

She elbowed the warm body next to her. "Pager," she grumbled, something someone of her generation shouldn't have to say. However, the older the technology was, the less likely it was for someone unintended to gain access.

Damian grumbled and grabbed the pager. With how quickly he moved, Mar'i was certain that he had woken up at the first buzz and just tried to ignore it. Once Damian was gone, she rolled over and drifted back to sleep.

No such luck for Damian though. The pager displayed a number he hadn't seen before.

Had something bad happened?

He grabbed one of the burner phones Mozzie kept around for this reason and dialled.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Damian decided he would have to be quick. He didn't want to stand out in the rain.

The person on the other end answered. "Chuck?"

"Hi, Neal."

Peter. Neal chuckled. "Guess this makes you 3 and 0."

"2 and 1. Haven't found you yet."

"Chuck gave you the pager number?"

"Yeah. He's worried."

"He does that."

"Neal, the DOJ has got someone looking for you."

"If they didn't, I'd be insulted."

"He means business."

Peter told Neal about Collins. However, Neal wasn't worried and told Peter as much. He and Chuck could stop worrying.

"I'm safe here. And I'm happy."

They talked a little more and then said goodbye. Neal stared at the phone for a while, coming back to reality after the little taste of what had been.

* * *

Jones looked over at Casey, who was sitting on the couch behind them. Diana's computer was set up on the Burkes' dining table with Peter's map spread out before them.

"Are you and El hosting something today? Because we can come back later," he commented to Peter.

"Chuck and his team are helping."

"Helping who?" Diana commented.

"Peter," Chuck answered from Peter's other side. "And Neal. Even though Neal won't admit he needs help."

Next to Chuck, Sarah nodded in agreement.

Next to Jones, Diana shrugged. She didn't care as long as Peter was okay with it.

"I had a friend at Quantico slip the recording to the Digital Evidence Exploitation Unit and she isolated three distinct background elements of Neal's call. Listen." She hit the button to play the sounds.

A ringing sound echoed through the room.

"Church bells," Casey piped up from the couch.

"Four in a row," Diana added. "There's more."

Waves sounded and everyone was confused for a moment. Why were they important?

"Listen again," Diana said. "That fourth sound is not a wave, it's thunder."

Peter grinned. "Alright. We've got church bells and a storm. It's a start, right?"

Casey stared in disbelief at Peter's back. Chuck grinned. There was a reason this guy had managed to catch Neal.

"Four bells gives us four o'clock," Sarah mused. "And a storm."

Chuck and Jones typed away on their own computers. Jones found information first.

"Storm activity at 4pm gives us Vladivostok, Russia."

"Mozzie's afraid of bears," Peter commented. "Try 4am."

"Cape Verde islands."

"No extradition but dozens of tiny islands," Sarah mused. "Where do we start?"

"Diana, what about the bells?"

"Analysis says they're Spanish Brass but, the islands in that area were colonised by Portugal, not Spain."

"Spanish Bells," Sarah mused. Chuck and Jones both typed away, trying to find something that matched.

"Yes!" Chuck cheered first. "I think I have something!"

"What do you have?" Jones questioned.

"1798, a bell was recovered from the wreckage of a Spanish ship and hung in the St. Christopher church. The church is in the port city of Santa Maria, Cape Verde!" Chuck laughed.

Jones frowned a little at his loss while everyone else was just glad they had a location.

"There's even a recording online of the bells." Chuck turned the computer sound up and clicked the recording. The sound of bells filled the room.

"An exact match," Casey said from the couch with interest.

"He has perfect pitch," Sarah explained to Diana.

"We got him!" Peter cheered, circling the location on the map. "Now we just need a plan to bring him home!"


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

Peter pulled out beer and wine in order to celebrate. Casey gave a pleased huff and took his beer to the couch. Sarah started asking Diana about how she went about getting the sounds isolated on the recording. Sarah was interested in the kinds of favours Diana had to call in.

Chuck started out talking tech with Jones before Peter pulled him aside.

"Why are you and your team looking for Neal?"

"There's something I need to talk to him about," Chuck repeated his answer from earlier.

"That's a rather personal reason," Peter responded.

Chuck hummed. "It is, isn't it?"

"Who called you to New York? Put you on this case?" Peter asked.

Chuck laughed. "Are you hoping the alcohol is loosening my tongue?"

"More like I'm hoping that someone is investigating the unfairness which came Neal's way. He worked hard for commutation, for a chance to be free."

"I agree," Chuck said. He swirled the liquid in the bottle as he thought. "Another agent sent us. Mostly to watch after you guys and a little to see what Kramer was up to. Looks like Kramer's stepped back, which is good. But he's also sent in Collins, which is bad."

"Do you have a plan to bring Neal back?" Jones asked. Chuck thought for a moment.

"The easiest option is for him to burn Neal's ID and go back to who he was," Casey snorted.

"And who's that?" Chuck questioned because he had a feeling that Bryce Larkin wasn't his real name.

"Anyone who's not Neal Caffrey," Casey answered, having been prepared for that kind of question.

The FBI agents looked at the group in surprise.

"That's your plan?" Diana question sceptically. "Surely you can think of something better than that."

"Neal would need some kind of leverage to get the FBI to even think of reinstating his contract, let alone setting him free," Sarah pointed out.

Chuck thought as the group started arguing about whether they clear Neal's name or just let him vanish into another identity. "There must be something we can do," he mused out loud.

"Chuck, no," Sarah sighed. Whenever he got that musing look on his face, she knew it meant trouble for them. Chuck was going to do something crazy to get Neal freed.

"Perhaps we should talk to Neal first," Peter said. "He's good at coming up with plans."

Chuck nodded in agreement and both groups calmed down. Mostly.

* * *

Chuck was surprised to get a call from Agent Burke the next day.

"I just got off the phone with my wife," Peter said. Chuck could hear the seething anger in his tone.

"What happened?" Chuck asked. Were they busted? Did the FBI hate of the CIA run deep?

"Collins appeared on my doorstep with a warrant. He found the map."

Chuck immediately regretted not burning the map once they knew where Neal was. He was certain Peter was thinking something along the same lines.

"I'm going to talk to my boss now. I'll let you listen in, if you're serious about helping Neal."

"I am."

Chuck heard Peter tell his boss about Collins being in his house.

"You were withholding information on Caffrey's whereabouts," Hughes responded.

"I was speculating during my free time," Peter answered.

"I saw the map. You circled Cape Verde. Is he there?"

"I don't know." Peter sighed and Chuck held his breath. "I think so. What about Collins?"

"He's on the first flight to Cape Verde." However, Collins had no jurisdiction there.

"How's he going to bring Neal back?"

"Caffrey's fate is out of your hands, Peter." Chuck didn't like Hughes very much right now. Neal's fate was not a good one right now because of the FBI. But, Hughes said something which instantly redeemed himself. "Pending review of the situation, I've been instructed to put you on leave." Hughes said something about getting perspective and what was important. He also reminded Peter that he couldn't protect him if something went wrong.

But, by putting him on leave, Hughes gave Peter the chance to get Neal back himself.

* * *

Peter jumped off the bus, ready to start his detective work. He was going to find Neal here, he knew it. Even though he had lead danger to Neal's doorstep, he was excited about meeting his friend again.

"Okay, where to start?" Chuck questioned, looking around. It had been a subject hotly debated but, in the end, no one was able to stop either of them from going. They both used their own money and Chuck was against his whole team coming. Peter's team didn't have the freedom to act that he did since they still had to work.

Peter spotted a hat sign. "Over there."

"There?" Chuck questioned in confusion. The hat scene didn't really seem very Bryce. "You sure?" Although he guessed it wouldn't hurt to find out.

They walked through the door and were immediately greeted by the short man behind the counter.

"I'm looking for a friend," Peter said, handing him a photo.

The proprietor recognised Neal immediately; describing the hat Neal had bought.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Chuck asked.

"He loves coffee." The proprietor pointed to the cafe across the street. A lovely, dark haired woman was cleaning a couple of tables.

"Ah, coffee," Peter said drily, "his biggest weakness."

"That's sarcasm, right?" Chuck questioned as they exited the shop.

"Neal would do almost anything for the right woman."

Chuck couldn't argue that. Bryce was chivalrous to the point of stupidity sometimes. "Okay, but I doubt he has anything going on with that woman."

"Why's that?" Peter asked.

Chuck pointed to the other woman standing behind the counter. Her skin was slightly darker than Maya's and her green eyes seemed to sparkle as she focused on making drinks for the customers.

"You know her?"

"Yes, she's-" Chuck's voice stopped as Collins walked in. "Oh boy."

Collins looked surprised to see another person.

"Agent Burke. Who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Chuck. I'm the the translator Peter hired. It's the best way to see the islands!"

"I wonder." Collins turned back to Peter. "What could you really be doing so far from home on a tiny island?"

"I imagine the same thing that brought you here. Getting the best orange grogue for the price."

Chuck nodded while Collins smirked.

"You're good, Burke. I'll give you that. But I haven't played my trump card."

Chuck's stomach dropped as Collins pulled out a wanted poster and stepped up onto a chair.

"Your attention, please. You may know this man as James Maine. His real name is Neal Caffrey. Con man, art thief, forger, fugitive. I'm offering $500,000 American for the capture of this man. You bring him to me, and the money's yours."

Chuck cursed. This was not good. Money was a good motivator for things like this.

"Now, take a good look at his face. I don't care what condition you bring him to me. Just bring him to me."

Peter tensed. This was what everyone had been trying to keep from happening.

"Collins, what's that about?"

Collins chuckled. "We all have our methods."

"Aren't you meant to bring him back alive?" Chuck demanded to know.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not specify 'alive'? Opps. Go ahead. Arrest me, Agent." Peter glared at Collins, who chuckled. "That's right. You can't. You have no jurisdiction here."

"Neither do you," Peter reminded him.

"That's why I need the help of these good people," Collins said as he motioned to the now empty cafe.

The dark purple-haired woman slipped over the counter. "Maya, I do believe I won't be able to work here much longer," she said. "So I quit."

"I suspected as much," Maya responded. She glared at Collins, having an idea what Mar'i was thinking.

"Nice to see you again, Chuck," Mar'i said. "And Agent Burke." The flat way she greeted Peter reminded him of someone. "Agent Collins. I don't appreciate the way you do things."

"Lady, you don't have to. My way gets things done and that's all that matters." With that said, Collins left.

"I expected you to punch him," Maya commented.

"Not yet," Mar'i responded.

Peter wondered if this meant she was planning to punch Collins in the future.

"Mar'i, do you know where Neal is?"

"Can you tell us where he is?" Peter asked.

Mar'i thought about it. "I don't actually know. I only have a meeting point and it's for later this evening before we leave the island."

"Leave?" Chuck gasped.

"It's too dangerous to stay here, especially with what Collins pulled," Mar'i responded. "Mozzie's arranged a boat to another island."


	6. Chapter 6

 

Chuck and Peter shared a look. If they went somewhere else, it was unlikely that they'd be able to find them again.

"Let us talk to Neal," Peter demanded.

"I don't know where he is!" Mar'i reminded them. She threw her hands out in frustration. "The plan is to meet later this evening and there's nothing I can- Hector!"

Peter turned just as a kid pinched his wallet and ran off with it.

"Hey! That's my wallet!" Peter bolted after the kid. Chuck and Mar'i followed after him.

"You run fast," Chuck complimented Mar'i. He hadn't actually seen her run before.

"Thanks."

They lost sight of Hector for a moment before seeing his head pop out from around a corner. It was around this point that all three of them started piecing together what was really happening. They followed Hector through the streets and then into a building. Up a narrow spiral staircase and into a garden room.

"You know, I used to take pride in being able to steal your wallet," a voice said from inside the garden area.

Peter smiled and took a deep breath. Mar'i grinned and started floating. Chuck cheered and clapped. Neal came walking out from being a trellis and held up Peter's wallet.

"But if a kid can do it..."

"Damian!" Mar'i cheered, rushing forward and jumping into Neal's arms.

"Hey! I'm holding something here!" Neal protested with a grin, spinning her around anywhere.

"Hey, I want a hug," Chuck said. "It's been a while."

Peter just silently held his arms out to the side, letting Neal decide what he wanted to do.

"Group hug!" Mar'i said, pushing Neal into Peter's arms for a hug. After a moment, she and Chuck joined in.

"Good to see you," Peter said.

After a moment, Neal responded, "you too."

"Look, Neal, I-"

"Awfully convenient, Suit," Mozzie grumbled. "Neal calls you and then you're here? Along with the Super Suit and this schmuck?"

"Chuck's not a schmuck," Neal countered.

"Even though it rhymes?" Mar'i added with a grin.

Neal glared at her. Chuck laughed. Mozzie even smiled for a second there.

"Look, I needed to warn you. Collins is dangerous."

"We noticed," Neal muttered, thinking of the way Collins had put a bounty on their head. He wouldn't be able to take two steps without having people trying to catch him.

"I'm here for another reason," Chuck admitted, pulling out the photo El had given him. "I need to know who this is to you."

Neal took the photo and opened it. Then he closed it. "None of your business, Chuck."

"Neal, that photo could land you in a lot of trouble," Chuck insisted.

"Would you defend me even if I didn't tell you?" Neal asked. Chuck hesitated but eventually nodded. "Then you don't need to know. Focus on the immediate problem. We need to get of this island as soon as possible."

Mozzie mentioned how they would have to go by sea. Luckily, he knew just the guy.

* * *

Shouts filled the street as a crowd of people out of Collin's bounty ran after them. It turned out Mar'i was the fastest of them all, with Neal just managing to stay behind her. Neither of them were working up a sweat.

"You're better at running than I thought," Peter huffed.

"I don't know whether to be insulted or not," Neal commented, pausing for a moment. A bounty hunter jumped out from an alley and grabbed him. Neal spun, throwing him off.

Before Neal could fight back, Peter punched the guy.

"Did you-"

"Yep."

"Be impressed later!" Chuck huffed. "How much farther until we reach the wharf?"

"Probably too far," Mozzie commented, taking in their party.

"We could split up," Neal suggested. "Everyone's after me so I'll go in a different direction."

"That's a terrible idea," Mozzie huffed.

"I agree," Chuck said.

"I'll go with him," Mar'i said.

"It's too dangerous," Peter said.

"Worst case, I'll hide out somewhere and meet you before dawn." The boat wasn't able to pick them up until then.

"The Suit isn't wrong," Mozzie commented.

"Don't do anything stupid," Chuck commented.

"Too late!" Mar'i gasped as Neal sprinted off in another direction. She quickly followed. "We'll meet you at the wharf!" she called back to the others.

The three men left behind stared in shock for a moment.

"Well, we're not going to get anything done standing here," Mozzie said. He started walking towards the wharf.

"Wait. You're just going to let him run off?" Chuck asked.

"They said to meet at the wharf. We go, acquire the boat and then chase after them if they don't arrive."

"I guess we give them a chance?" Peter mused to Chuck with a shrug.

Chuck thought they had a point. "Alright. But if they're not there by dawn, we're going after him."

"Exactly," Peter and Mozzie responded in unison.

* * *

A man grabbed Neal and he swung a punch right back, knocking the man out cold. At this rate, they would leave a trail of bodies on the path to Dobbs' manor.

"Hey!"

Mar'i and Neal stopped, spotting Maya in the distance. She was on a blue scooter, looking somewhere between pleased and annoyed.

"Here. You two will need this."

"Thanks, Maya!" Mar'i said, grabbing a helmet from her old boss. "You're the best!"

"Thank you," Neal said, hopping on the scooter. "I'll make sure to repay you."

"Just don't get caught!" Maya said as they rode off into the distance. Still having allies made them think that everything would be fine. However, that was not the case. They found their way into Dobbs' manor easy enough and they even managed to meet with the man.

"This is going to be a long night," Neal sighed. He turned to Dobbs. "At least with your men's protection, I think it's safe enough."

"What's your rush?" Dobbs asked, pouring Neal a drink. He didn't really pay much attention to Mar'i. Mar'i decided to just use that to her advantage. If he didn't pay much attention to her, then she could still be 'an ace in the hole' if things went wrong.

"Thank you again for all your help." Teaching Damian to con had been a great decision, Mar'i thought. It had done wonders for his manners. She would need to let her father know the next time she saw him.

"But wait." Dobbs paused. "This wasn't the local government. It was the United States Government. On my island."

Mar'i's eyes narrowed and she stood up. The older man was angry and that didn't bode well for them.

"Sit down lady," Dobbs growled at her.

"We didn't mean to cause you any trouble," Neal said. He shared a glance with Mar'i. It was one which said they might have to fight their way out of here.

"And yet," Dobbs said, "you did, Neal. You did."

"I never said my name was Neal."

"But I did."

Mar'i suppressed the urge to light up her starbolts as a gun clicked behind her. She turned slightly, just enough to see Collins out of the corner of her eye. He was pointing a gun at her but looking straight at Neal.

"Hello, Neal," he greeted.

* * *

Mar'i tugged at her restraints and felt Damian tug back. They were sitting in chairs, back to back, rope looped across their chests and tying them together. Their hands were handcuffed tightly behind them.

Mar'i's shoulders were stiff from being pulled back in the same position.

"So, who's fault is this?" she asked. Damian liked blaming other people when he ended up in positions like this. However, he had been the one to throw up his hands and surrender.

"Honestly, I thought we would have been able to escape by now," Damian grunted back. He was tired and it took a lot of focus to pick the handcuffs. Collins had the good kind.

"Good to know," Mar'i sighed.

"Look, there's a reason Dobbs handed me over. There's something he's trying to hide."

"And you want to know what it is?"

"Aren't you curious?"

Mar'i stayed silent which was as good as agreeing but she didn't actually have to voice it. It saved her from some of Damian's smugness.

"Got it," Damian said as the cuffs clanged on the ground. The ropes loosened and he pulled them off.

"Can I escape now?" Mar'i questioned.

"Yeah, there's no risk of burning me," Damian said.

Mar'i breathed a sigh of relief and then flared up and pulled. The cuffs snapped from her super-strength and the starbolts on her hands weakened them enough to be pulled off her wrists. She kicked the cage door off it's hinges and Damian made an impressed noise. Her hair was flared up, her hands and eyes glowing and she looked like a wrathful demon come to destroy all her enemies.

Damian shook his head to rid it of such thoughts. They just had to get out of here.

They both froze as voices could be heard coming their way.

"That's Collins," Damian said. Mar'i gave him an unimpressed look. She knew that. Damian gave her a determined look. "You need to escape and get Peter."

"What?"

"I'm non-violent, easy to keep alive and under Collins' thumb. There's no reason to kill me. But you're a wild card. They don't know anything about you. Plus, you can fly and warn Peter quickly. The sooner the better."

Mar'i glared. Curse him for being so logical. "You die and I'm dropping you in a Lazarus Pit, resurrecting you and killing you myself."

"Noted." She was not the first to make that threat. She pressed herself up against the wall next to the door and, while Collins and Dobbs were occupied Neal having escaped from the cage, she bolted up the stairs and floated out of the nearest window.

Her heart was thudding wildly in her chest as she tried to tell herself that the bang she heard hadn't been a gunshot and that Damian would be fine.


	7. Chapter 7

 

Mar'i floated over the city before walking the rest of the way back to the meeting point. The moment the three men noticed her, the expected question came from them all at once.

"Where's Neal?"

Mar'i glared at Mozzie. "Whatever you're paying Dobbs isn't enough. He turned Neal over to Collins." Mozzie looked surprised at this, so Mar'i went on. "He made all these comments about how you two pay him to keep local law enforcement off your backs. Local and not the Feds."

"What a jerk," Chuck commented.

"Well, we'll just have to rescue him," Peter said.

"What? Shouldn't you be leaving? You Feds won."

"Mozzie, don't lump Peter with them," Mar'i commented.

"And you!" he said, jabbing a finger in her direction. "I can only assume that you left Neal there! You heartless woman! No good thief! I can't believe Neal was going to marry you!"

"What?"

"What?" Peter questioned.

"I know about the ring! The McNally solitaire! Neal was going to ask her to marry him!"

"Neal was going to ask Kate to marry him," Peter corrected even as the pieces fell into place. The hair, skin and eye colours were different however, the face and body shape were a dead ringer for Neal's dead girlfriend, Kate.

Mar'i didn't know how to respond. "Neal... was going to propose?"

"That's right! And then you went and not-died and so he gave the ring up to save the Suit here!"

Mar'i wondered if getting married had been Neal's plan for keeping Kate around and he just scrapped it when she 'died' or if he actually wanted to marry her.

"Do you think... he actually wants to be with me?" Mar'i questioned, her voice pitched higher. She couldn't help it. She was just... why didn't he tell her?

"Neal loved Kate," Peter said.

Mozzie nodded in agreement. "Any fool could see it."

"He did call in favours to protect you after all," Chuck added, being the only one there who knew how she managed to survive.

"But that's just because he holds my dad in great respect and didn't want to tell him that he couldn't protect me. Right?"

"It takes a lot for Neal to call in help," Chuck said.

"You guys are mean, getting a girl's hopes up." She took a deep, shuddering breath. And then another one. And another. "Okay, focus. We need to get him out of there. Any plans?"

* * *

The plan Mozzie came up with was simple enough. Hector, the kid who sold fruit on the street, was perfectly happy to help 'James' out of a predicament. He also relished the chance to mess with Dobbs' plans. The big man on the island didn't have a good rapport with the kid.

Chuck played the kind looking workman, blocking off the road Collins would have to take and directing him down the street where Hector was waiting.

Hector's cart was spilled over and Mozzie was helping the kid to pick everything up.

"Come on," Mar'i grumbled from high above the street. She was perched atop a nearby roof with a pair of Mozzie's binoculars. They needed Collins to leave the car for this plan to work. "Come on."

"Hey! You wanna move? Get out here and help big-shot!" Mozzie growled at Collins.

Mar'i grinned as she watched Collins get out and go to help. Trust Mozzie to know just what to say to get the mark acting just as they hoped.

She watched as Peter slipped out of Mozzie's car, hidden around the corner, and down to where Collins' car was idling. Peter and Neal exchanged some words and then Peter waved her down. Collins glanced back once or twice, Peter using the car to hide himself from Collins' view.

Mar'i took a deep breath and shot down. She grabbed Neal's outstretched arms and pulled him up to the roof.

"So, what did they say when you told them you could fly?" Neal questioned.

Mar'i glared at him, fully green eyes glowing in annoyance. "Peter was silent in disbelief but I think he's willing to do whatever it takes to get you back. Chuck already knew and I suspect Mozzie is hoping to prove some theories about aliens. I won't be drinking or eating anything Mozzie gives me from now on, okay?"

"I'll remind him that you can die just like any other living creature then," Neal quipped. Mar'i floated him over the roof and dropped him into Mozzie's car as Peter brought it around.

"Is this how you got out of some of your other scrapes?" Peter asked Neal suspiciously.

"I'm on the run, stuck on an island out to kill or capture me and I've been shot; can we have this conversation later?" Neal grumbled.

"That's a yes then," Peter mused to himself as they drove away.

"Actually no," Mar'i corrected. "He would consider it an insult if he used my powers to escape. Plus, Kate was supposed to pass as a regular human so powers were a final resort kind of thing."

"An insult?" Peter mused. "Sounds like something Mozzie would say."

"I have no idea what Mozzie would say. Which is why Mozzie didn't know about my powers until recently." Mar'i glanced back at Neal, curled up on the back seat. "Are you doing alright back there?"

"Just... peachy," Neal groaned.

* * *

They regrouped at another villa owned by Neal and Mozzie. Mozzie came in quickly, happy that the plan worked. Chuck had finished off a bottle of wine, having nothing else to do. Neal was lying on the couch, elevating his wounded leg.

"What happened to you?"

"I got shot," Neal told Mozzie.

"Oh. Welcome to the club."

"Don't let him trick you into feeling pity for him," Mar'i said. "He's been shot before."

"Correct," Chuck confirmed. "Twice. At least he's not pretending to die."

"I never actually pretended to die, Chuck."

"I don't know if I want to know this story," Peter commented. "Is there any way it can come back to bite us?"

"No."

"And you're perfectly fine now, aside from the bullet wound?"

"Yes."

Peter was convinced by how quickly Neal responded. "I don't want to know it then." There was an unspoken, 'not yet, anyway' at the end of that statement.

"And I'm fine, thank you all," Neal said in a biting tone. He then explained that he stole the keys to Dobbs' boat while in the manor and his altered plan was for them to escape using Dobbs' boat.

Mozzie grabbed his binoculars. This place had a view of the whole marina and he suspected they would be able to find Dobbs' boat without leaving.

"Okay, there's about a dozen boats out there," Mozzie commented.

"You could let Chuck look," Neal commented with a chuckle. Chuck glared at his old friend.

"I don't think that's the kind of thing I can help with."

Mozzie gave Neal a flat stare. He had a better idea. "The model boats in Dobbs' library..." he suggested.

"They all had women's names," Neal recalled. Maybe they could find a boat with a matching woman's name. "There was a Claudia, Annette, Adele, Esmeralda-"

Mar'i was wondering why people named boats after women when Peter started humming the tune to 'London Bridge is Falling Down'.

"Isabella, I can tell-a. Esmeralda, find Adele-a."

Chuck's face flushed as his eyelids flickered and he jumped to his feet.

"Mirabella, so compella," Peter continued, then seemed to snap out of it. "Was there a Mirabella?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on?" Mar'i whispered to Mozzie.

"Rob's fair ladies!" Peter crowed the last line.

"Did he get into the rum?" Mozzie suggested.

"Robert MacLeish?" Chuck questioned, the only person who seemed to be able to follow Peter's trail of thought. "You think Dobbs is Robert MacLeish?"

"I do," Peter responded excitedly. "And that's how we'll get Neal back into New York!"

"Okay, what's with the nursery rhyme butchery and what's your plan?" Mar'i asked.

"Start with who Robert MacLeish is," Neal said. Chuck opened his mouth and Neal interrupted before he could speak. "Aside from number 4 on the FBI's most wanted list."

"The 'rhyme butchery' is a mnemonic device. The names of the women in Robert MacLeish's life are part of the first year Quantico test."

"Oh, it's an exam memorisation tool."

"Yes. Running into MacLeish is a stroke of luck. I'll need to call Hughes but I believe that, if we can get MacLeish back to New York, we can leverage him over the FBI to get them to reinstate Neal's deal."


	8. Chapter 8

 

"My plan is quite simple," Mar'i said. "We go in, I punch Dobbs unconscious and then we grab him and run."

The guys all stared at her.

"That's not going to work," Mozzie huffed. "We need more finesse."

"Plus, that fulfils the 'catch MacLeish' goal but not that 'get Neal back in New York' goal," Chuck said. "If we don't fulfil the second condition, there's no point in arresting MacLeish."

"Why doesn't it?" Mar'i grumbled, sitting back in her chair. "Agent Burke calls ahead and gets the deal ready and we deliver MacLeish."

"We won't make it to the plane," Neal said. "Dobbs controls this island. It's why we chose here."

"Neal is correct. Everyone will fight tooth and nail to keep Dobbs here," Mozzie said.

"Why?" Mar'i asked.

Everyone stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

Mar'i said to Neal, "why is Dobbs in control?"

"Because he's paid off the local law enforcement and the people know he's here for the long hall."

"They won't dare say anything against him or his men," Mozzie said.

Peter was watching Neal's expressions. His eyes had lit up when Mar'i asked her question. Peter knew Neal's next words before he said them;

"I have a plan. But first, we need to convince the FBI that we're the best team to bring Dobbs in."

* * *

_The doorbell rang._

_Dobbs' men opened the door to see a man in a white shirt and tropical shorts. The man's pocket protector had his photo and a name on it._

_"Computer emergency?" Chuck said, holding up his box of tools. Mozzie had cleverly interrupted the connection to the manor. It was easy enough when the cable came from one location._

_The guards shared a look and brought Chuck in to look at the computer. Chuck worked and worked. He showed them pages of information from other users and troubleshooting notes when they questioned why it was taking so long. Surprisingly, they let him talk for almost ten minutes. It gave Chuck a good reason to ask for a drink of water at the end._

_It was when he ducked into the kitchen that he first heard Dobbs' voice._

_The resulting flash from the Intersect was all the positive ID they would need._

* * *

Peter and Chuck sat side by side before a single computer. When the call connected, Hughes' face appeared on the screen.

"Well?" Peter asked.

Hughes wasn't impressed. He held up a printout which Peter had sent him. Not knowing about the Intersect, Peter explained about the boats and how they matched the names of Dobbs' sweethearts. .

"I've seen the sketch Caffrey made. It looks as much like MacLeish as my cousin Phyllis."

"That's because he's had reconstructive surgery," Peter said. "If it is him, what's he worth to the Bureau? Enough to get Neal's deal reinstated?"

Hughes was silent and grumpy.

"If not, then there are other agencies which will jump at this chance and you'll never see Neal again," Chuck said quickly. "Also, I have a positive ID on Dobbs. He's MacLeish."

"I shouldn't be surprised that you've revealed yourself to me, Agent Carmichael," Hughes commented. "I suppose your agents told you that I've been looking into your backgrounds?"

Chuck nervously laughed. "Well, no. Actually, your search triggered a couple of my own flags." And he really hoped Hughes wouldn't ask any more than that. After all, he didn't want to admit that his hacker identity was on the FBI watch list.

Hughes thought about it. "If the choice is between Caffrey vanishing into another system or rejoining us, I might be able to work something out."

Chuck grinned and clapped his hands together.

* * *

The called ended shortly after that. Chuck and Peter shared a high five.

"Now, what did Hughes mean by 'another system'?" Peter asked Chuck.

Mozzie seemed to slip behind a table. Mar'i adjusted her sitting and watched curiously. Neal wondered what Chuck would do. Would he tell Peter?

"I'm not actually FBI but I am a Fed," Chuck admitted. "And my organisation will take Neal if the FBI doesn't want him anymore."

"CIA," Peter figured it out in a moment. There was no victory in his voice, just annoyance. "You didn't have to hide it, you know?"

Neal decided to explain. "Peter, just because you're willing to work with the CIA, doesn't mean everyone is. The work is also dangerous, something El probably wants you to stay away from."

"How ingenious. The CIA recruited someone who no one would ever suspect of being a spy," Mozzie mused.

"I've been suspected of being a spy, thank you. Although, I managed to convince people that I wasn't really a spy like I'm supposed to. Except that one time I had to convince a guy that I was the best and strongest CIA agent and that I was going to protect him."

Chuck looked impressed with himself. Neal didn't see why getting caught was something to be impressed with.

"Suit, looks like you can step back and everything will be fine," Mozzie said to Peter.

"No way, Mozzie. I don't approve of conning but this area is out of my jurisdiction and we do need to get MacLeish back on US soil."

"You just don't want to admit you're looking forward to it," Mozzie commented. "Let's revive the Burke Seven."

"The… what?" Mar'i questioned.

"There's only five of us," Chuck said.

"We're not reviving the Burke Seven," Neal commented. "More than half the members aren't even here."

"Can we be the Caffrey Five then?" Mar'i suggested.

Chuck nodded, agreeing with the name.

"Alright, we have a name," Neal sighed. Then he smiled. Finally, "let's plan a con."

* * *

_Mozzie pulled out a floorplan of Dobbs' manor estate._

_"Dobbs is holding a party in a couple of days. That's when we'll hit."_

_"So we're going with Peter's idea then?" Chuck questioned._

_Peter seemed surprised. "I was just throwing ideas out there. We can't really turn the whole island against Dobbs, can we?" The others stared at him like he was a student who answered '3' to '1 plus 1'._

_"Naive Suit. There's always a way."_

* * *

Peter took a quick look around the party and then walked over to the person manning the bar. They had gotten in on a recommendation from Maya. Peter slid over to the counter and ordered a drink.

"So, what happened to Rajulio?" he asked the bartender. Rajulio was the usual bartender at events like this. Mozzie had arranged for the man to win a free holiday, leaving a space for Chuck to fill and a point to start their rumours. 

Chuck sighed, completely in character. "Poor guy. He was detained by the American Federal Agent."

"Really?"

Chuck hummed a 'really' and turned to serve the woman who came up.

"Hi, I'm Kevin. What would you like to drink this fine day?"

He quickly made the woman's order and Peter marvelled at how he was able to expertly handle the bottles and shaker with only a couple days of training.

"Detained by the American Federal Agent, huh?" Peter mused.

"That's correct sir. Now what would you like to drink?"

* * *

_Chuck stared at Neal. In fact, he wasn't the only one shocked by Neal's suggestion._

_"Him?" Mozzie questioned._

_"You're the one who suggested Maya recommend one of our guys to go in. And then that person seeds a couple of rumours."_

_"I was thinking the Suit! Not the… the Not-Suit!"_

_"He'll be fine."_

_"Why can't I be part of the team breaking in?" Chuck sighed. Neal pulled him aside._

_"Look, you can Flash on the stuff and make great drinks. No training needed, thanks to the Intersect 2.0."_

_"It doesn't always work like that, Bryce!" Chuck hissed back._

_"Then a little training needed. You've got a face people trust, Chuck." Neal pressed his palms to Chuck's cheeks, squishing them. "Make use of it."_

_Chuck really hated Bryce sometimes._


	9. Chapter 9

 

Mozzie walked up to the building with a long box. They day before, they had paid Hector to toss a rock at one of Dobbs' windows. It shattered and Dobbs ordered it fixed. Exactly as planned.

The security guard stopped Mozzie.

"No, no, no. You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow."

They had planned for this as well. "It's Mr Dobbs. We rushed the order. You want to give me a hand here?"

The guard tried to tell him about the party but Mozzie wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I'll fix his window before a guest even notices."

* * *

_"So Mozzie gets in by posing as the guy fixing the window. How are we getting in?" Mar'i asked._

_"Who said you're even coming?" Mozzie countered._

_Neal shoved out a hand to stop Mar'i from responding. "She's coming. Dobbs has a Brickman 2-5-10."_

_Peter looked worried. "You can't crack that, can you?"_

_"No," Neal answered before anyone else could. They would all talk him up. "Not without heavy equipment and several hours of alone time. Thankfully, we have a shortcut here. Mar'i is an adequate substitute."_

_Mar'i glared and huffed._

_"You owe us for the whole Kate thing!" Mozzie insisted. "You can break one safe for us."_

_"I'll literally be breaking it," Mar'i muttered._

_"That's fine. We only need to make it look like Dobbs made off with the bribe money," Neal said, sounding all too pleased with this plan._

* * *

Mozzie opened the window. It was a signal to Mar'i. She grabbed Neal and floated up to the second floor window, hiding in the shadow of a nearby tree.

"This feels like cheating," Neal complained. "I totally could have climbed that tree."

"And reopen your wound while you're at it," Mar'i countered. "If you're using my powers to break the safe, you can use them to get in here safely."

"For once I agree with the Glowbug," Mozzie said.

"Glowbug?"

Neal snickered. "What? It's a nickname. That's how you know Mozzie tolerates you."

"Yay," Mar'i responded in a deadpan. "Let's just break this safe."

* * *

_"This plan is reliant on getting Collins to this party." Everyone looked at Peter as he spoke. "How are we going to do that?"_

_"He'll come running when he hears I'll be there."_

_"Let it be noted that I don't approve of this part of the plan."_

_"Noted, Mozzie. Neal, you need to explain more," Mar'i said._

_"Right. Well, I figure we can give Maya a thank you for letting us stay and work here. She can tell Collins where I'll be in return for the reward money."_

_"She'll have to convince Collins that he's forced it out of her. Otherwise he'll be suspicious," Mozzie pointed out._

_"She can do that."_

* * *

"What is this about Rajulio?" the sheriff asked Chuck when he came to order a drink.

"I don't want to get him in trouble."

"He's not. The Americans detained him, right?"

"I'm guessing that it's because of all the cash." Chuck leaned in as he slid the drink across to the sheriff. "Rajulio saw them loading all the money from the safe onto Mr Dobbs' boat." Then Chuck lent back. "That's just what he said."

* * *

While the people below gossiped, Mar'i attempted to break into the safe. She fired a couple of starbolts at it but nothing happened.

"I thought you could get us in?" Mozzie said snidely.

Mar'i glared at him. "You want to get us in? Then be quiet and let me work." She stepped up to the safe and put her hands on the hinges. She was going to break these things as if her life depended on it. Her pride would not allow her to fail in front of Mozzie. She put her strength into melting and crushing the safe door.

"We're running out of time," Mozzie said, looking back at where Neal was supposed to be standing. Except there was no Neal there. "Just great," he sighed.

Mar'i turned back and gave a fond smile and roll of her eyes as she wriggled the safe door with her super-strength. It popped off and she placed it on the ground.

"All yours, Mozzie," she said.

Neal returned a moment later. "Found a storeroom a few doors down," he said, holding up empty suitcases. "How about we add these to the plan?"

* * *

Chuck looked up as Dobbs propped an arm up on his bar.

"Ah, Mr. Dobbs, sir. When's the vacation?"

"What vacation?" Dobbs questioned back, confused.

"My apologies. I remember someone saying that you had the Esmeralda all gassed up for a long trip. I-I'm sorry. What would you like to drink?"

As Chuck started making the drink, he sent an overwhelmed look to the nice sheriff. He had been cultivating a relationship with the man, even if it was only though the handing of drinks to him and being polite. It was enough to bring the sheriff over as Dobbs started scolding him.

"First of all, shut up. Second, I'm not going anywhere. And third, the Esmeralda is not all gassed up."

The sheriff butted in. "I was at the docks when they fuelled up the Esmeralda."

As the two started arguing, Chuck sent a text to Peter and Neal.

* * *

_It was the day before the party and Mozzie knew the sheriff was nearby but he pretended he hadn't noticed. After all, he was here because the sheriff liked spending time down on the marina. Mozzie passed the keys over to a helpful workman._

_"Here are the keys to the Esmeralda. Gas her up for put another 50 gallons in the cabin."_

_"Where is Mr Dobbs going?" the worker questioned._

_Mozzie shrugged. "Far. That's all I know."_

_It was not the intended use for the keys Neal lifted but it fit their new plan perfectly._

* * *

Peter slipped over towards Dobbs' man. The man hadn't taken his eyes of the argument brewing nearby between Dobbs and the sheriff. As the two men walked off, Dobbs planning to pay the sheriff now to prove he wasn't leaving, Peter cleared his throat. The man looked at him. Peter didn't return the favour, keeping his eyes on the retreating Dobbs.

"Listen, if things get bad for your boss in there, I heard that one of Dobbs' friends has a plane leaving the airport."

With that said, Peter slipped away.

* * *

_"What's my part in this?" Peter asked. "Just spread the rumours Chuck starts even more?"_

_"Yes, but there's something else I need you to do," Neal said. "Maya will direct Collins to the party but I need you to hint at the way off the island. A convenient one both Collins and Dobbs will take."_

_"Because you're going to book a plane and flight that day," Mar'i continued, finishing Neal's explanation. "So you have to tell Collins about that flight."_

* * *

Mar'i brought Mozzie to rest on the ground outside of Dobbs' estate. She couldn't help crossing her fingers in the hope that everything would go okay. At this moment, Neal would be stepping out of the crowd at the party. He would tell the story of how Dobbs was setting him up to take the fall while preparing his own getaway. That Collins discovered who Dobbs really was; number four on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list.

Dobbs would deny everything as Agent Collins would bust in to arrest Neal. Peter would concede defeat while Collins takes Neal away, admitting that he has a flight off the island at 4pm, which was very soon, and didn't have the time to work out a rescue.

Peter would probably throw in a disappointed head-shake at Neal so that Collins swallows the story. Maya would be getting her money for telling Collins where Neal was and Dobbs would be running for the plane leaving soon.

"Are you going to join everyone at the airport?" Mar'i asked.

Mozzie shook his head. "I'll pass on the plane filled with government agents, thank you." He eyed her suspiciously. "You're not one too, are you?"

"Nope," Mar'i had no trouble admitting. "I'm something else. Something a little less legal." She giggled, thinking of costumes in the night sky and bloody battles in the streets.

Mozzie gave her a confused look before walking away. That was one reason he didn't like Kate too much. She liked to be cryptic at times.


	10. Chapter 10

 

Mar'i landed on the balcony of June's mansion. She placed her bag on the ground and used the key Neal gave her to go inside. Neal wouldn't return for hours as he was stuck on a plane with Chuck, Peter, Collins and Dobbs. It would be slow and not very fun.

Her phone went off and she answered in lethargically.

"Neal's deal will be reinstated," the voice on the other end droned.

Mar'i sat up. "Really?"

"The threat of the CIA taking him and the capture of Robert MacLeish was enough to reinstate the deal."

Mar'i frowned. "What about removing the anklet?"

There was a mutter from the other end of the phone. "They don't want to talk about it. Seems like the FBI wants to forget it was going to happen. They had been about to free him and he ran. They're taking it as a sign that Neal's not reformed."

"As much as they want to pretend otherwise, reformation wasn't the goal of this program of theirs," Mar'i grumbled.

"We know. So does Neal. He insists he'll be fine."

Mar'i didn't respond. There were other things on her mind. Things which had been bothering her for the last couple of days.

"Has Neal ever mentioned a ring?" she asked.

"A ring?" Red Robin echoed back with a chuckle. "I rarely hear from Neal. Sometimes he would ask for information as Bryce but mostly he keeps to himself and I'd only see him as Damian at family gatherings. Which I'm happy about, by the way."

Mar'i hadn't really noticed. She kept up to date with all her uncles and assumed every else did the same. Maybe Neal didn't want any trace of the family in his life? But then, who could she ask about the ring?

Mar'i went down to introduce herself to June. June was a lovely lady and Mar'i listened to all her stories as she was shown around the house.

June didn't know anything about the ring either. She knew about Kate since Neal had mentioned her a couple of times but nothing about a ring.

This was going to drive her crazy.

* * *

Neal returned with a tired smile on his face. He placed the suitcase on the floor and even returned Mar'i's hug.

"Dobbs complained all the way back. I'm only disappointed that Collins didn't shoot him too."

Mar'i glanced down at Neal's pant leg. There was no sign of the injury she knew was under there. However there was the bulge from a tracking anklet.

"I should have punched him," she complained.

Neal laughed. "I would have liked to as well."

Mar'i nuzzled in closer, resting her had on his shoulder. "Do you think you'll keep Neal's non-violent pact?"

"I've come this far. No point stopping now."

Ah, the famous Wayne stubbornness. Mar'i hummed her interest, wondering if Neal's non-violence would spread to Damian's personality.

"Hey, Mozzie said that-" their phones went off. "You've got to be kidding me," she moaned.

Neal pulled his out and answered it. "What do you want, Drake?"

Red Robin huffed. "And here I am, bringing you news about your favourite FBI agent. I thought you would at least give a pleasant greeting."

"Peter? What news?"

"Someone's complained that Peter shouldn't have involved himself. He wasn't supposed to go after you."

"But he was on leave," Mar'i pointed out. "It shouldn't have mattered."

"Well, it did. So now Peter's being sent to the Evidence Lockup. It's pretty much where an agent's career goes to die."

"No way." Peter didn't deserve this. Mar'i felt her eyes heat up and glow with righteous fury. "We can't let them do that!"

"I do have a couple of things you can try," Red Robin said to Mar'i. Neal listened to the plans and was impressed. A meeting between Mar'i and Hughes had been set up and she was going to try and convince him to fight the decision. Plus, Red Robin had a number of files which would help them do that. The other plan was to see if they could request Agent Burke to investigate a theft at the penthouse Bruce Wayne owned. Neal was not a fan of that plan because of the proximity to his father.

Meanwhile they would be working on finding out the person behind the complaint. Nothing would have happened to Peter if someone hadn't pointed it out. If that someone was someone with something against Peter or Neal, they would come down hard.

* * *

Everyone seemed happy to see Neal back. Neal smiled and greeted everyone and looked over his desk. Something ached inside when he saw it had gone untouched. In the time he had been away, no one had cleared or moved into his desk.

"Right by the door is where the angry visitors focus their complaints," Diana joked as an explanation for no one taking the desk. "But you're too pretty for people to complain to, Caffrey."

"Thanks," Neal responded drily.

"Something wrong?" Peter asked.

The door opened at that moment and Mar'i came walking in. Her hair seemed to bounce behind her and her disguised, human green eyes sparkled as she looked around. She was dressed in a suit jacket and skirt with black heels. The top button of her jacket was undone and Neal suppressed the sudden, very Damian, urge to tell her to 'cover yourself, woman!'.

"Isn't that-"

"Mar'i," Neal finished before Peter could say 'Kate'. "Yep."

"You know her?" Diana asked.

"She's taken," Peter quickly informed Diana.

Mar'i grinned and waved. She blew a kiss in Neal's direction before heading up to Hughes' office.

"Spill, Caffrey. Who's that gorgeous woman?" Diana asked. "She's built like an Amazonian."

"I can tell you that she's not an Amazonian," Neal responded with his trademark grin.

Diana was not impressed. "I'll find out sooner or later, Caffrey."

"You're starting to sound like Peter."

"Good. I admire him."

"As amusing as this all is, you both have paperwork to complete," Peter said, coming to stand between them.

They both looked at Peter for a moment before moving to do as he asked. Everyone knew that Peter was awaiting orders on his punishment for going after Caffrey. Sadly, his excuses of going on holiday didn't fly with the higher ups, especially since the intel on where Neal was came from Peter's house in the first place.

"Do you know where they're sending you?" Jones asked.

Peter shook his head. He had supposed to find out that morning when he came in but Hughes had held off for some reason.

"Maybe they've decided that I don't need to be transferred," Peter said optimistically.

Neal bit his tongue. He knew they were sending Peter to Evidence Lockup where he wouldn't be able to work active cases. But he also knew that there were people fighting the decision. The team included Mar'i so Neal hoped that she was here right now to overturn the decision.

* * *

Mar'i came out of Hughes' office stomping her feet. Her face was puffed up and she looked ready to fight someone.

"Miss Grayson, I hope this doesn't leave you with a bad impression of the FBI. We do take care of our own," Hughes said when they both reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you?" Mar'i said in the quiet but strong voice of a vigilante.

"I gave Agent Burke a choice. I challenged the decision. People aren't budging up there."

Mar'i hummed and turned.

"Hair," Neal whispered to her as she stomped past. A light warning about the glowing embers he could see. If she got any more worked up, her hair would ignite.

"Your girlfriend is a piece of work, Caffrey," Hughes commented. "Polite but I have the feeling that wasn't the last I'll see of her regarding this."

"Probably not," Neal responded. "Is that going to be a problem, sir?" If it was, he could get her to pull back. Mar'i could be intense when fighting for justice.

Hughes thought about it for a couple of moments. Neal was ready to ask again when he shook his head.

"Not at this moment in time," he said. "I'll let you know. Peter, with me." Hughes pulled Peter back up to his office. It seemed the 'temporary' transfer to Evidence Lockup was going to happen whether they liked it or not.


	11. Chapter 11

 

It had been a quiet day at the office. No one was really up for talking after learning of Peter's fate. Neal was torn between being glad that no one seemed to blame him for it and actually wanting people to blame him for it. After all, if he hadn't been around, Peter would still be in White Collar.

Neal walked back into his apartment with a heavy air.

"Not a good first day back then?" Chuck asked from the dinning room table. Neal hadn't been surprised to find him there as June had mentioned that someone was visiting. However, he had been slightly,  _very slightly,_  hoping that Red Robin would come out to assist.

"Peter is in trouble," Neal explained about how Peter has been unofficially demoted. Mar'i had sent him a text with some details in it, like how their other option of bringing Peter back in had been shot down before it even started. "They won't even let him work cases."

"There's probably a way around that. I mean, you do the work of an FBI agent without actually being an FBI agent," Chuck pointed out.

That was it! Being a CI did leave a lot of loopholes. "Chuck, you're brilliant!"

"I know," Chuck responded with a smug smile. However, it was slightly awkward and less annoying and more embarrassed.

"You have no idea what idea you gave me, do you?"

"No clue," Chuck admitted with a laugh. "But if it helps Peter, I don't mind."

"So why are you here?" Neal figured this was as good a time as any to ask. After all, Chuck wasn't here to help with Peter's situation and there was a faded blue file sitting on the table.

Chuck sighed and slide the file forward. Taking the silent instruction, Neal sat down and opened the file. It was a picture of him and Alfred the day of his commutation hearing.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Peter acquired that picture and his wife showed it to us in order to get our help in locating you. The man's supposed to be in WITSEC but I know he's really not. He doesn't exist except when Neal Caffrey is in town."

"And how do you know that?" Neal asked, no longer friendly. The joking stopped whenever Alfred was brought into the picture. Whatever threats the US Government wanted to make against the old man who raised that Batman and his family would be quickly dealt with.

"Casey went on stake out in front of the man's supposed residence. There were no signs of anyone living there. He would have broke in to be completely certain but the security could give the CIA a run for its money."

"Casey noticed that?" Despite how he felt about Casey, Neal was impressed that Casey noticed that. Most people would have broken in and been caught. Then again, to stake out night and day until they were certain no one lived there was the act of someone determined and observant. "Why are you so interested in him?" Chuck bit his lip and Neal knew that this was going to be bad news. "Well?"

"He's a former SOE operative. Your association with him makes people wonder if you're a traitor."

Neal sighed. "And what do you think?"

"I think we've been wrong before. Although you don't exactly do things which instigate trust. Like that glare you're giving me now. It's sending chills down my spine, like you might kill me at any moment." The glare intensified. "Not that I think you would!"

Neal let the glare go for another moment before laughing. He loved messing with Chuck a little too much! It was like playing with an amalgamation of Dick and Tim.

Chuck was not impressed. "You realise this is serious? After all the trouble we went to get reinstate Neal Caffrey, you'll let them pull you out because of this?"

Something Chuck said set alarm bells off in Neal's head. He had a feeling that the CIA was the reason he wasn't able to get his promised freedom. But it was only a suspicion triggered by Chuck and not something he believed Chuck was involved in.

"Chuck, I don't play by the CIA's rules when I can play by my own," Neal said. "And the CIA can't really do anything about it."

Chuck groaned and palmed his face.

"You're not making this easy for me, Bryce," he grumbled, voice muffled by his hands.

Neal laughed. "I rarely make things easy for anyone. Don't worry Chuck, I'm not betraying the CIA. The man's an old family friend. He helped raise my father and he's no longer involved in the SOE."

"Really?" Chuck smiled at that, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he tilted his head, no doubt listening to whomever was on the other end on the earpiece he was wearing.

"Is that Sarah? Hi, Sarah!"

Chuck shook his head fondly. "Yeah, she wants to know why he's involved with Neal Caffrey."

"He's a safety net," Neal responded. "One of my brothers swears by them and I'd rather choose my safety net than have random family members popping up from time to time."

"You have brothers?" Chuck questioned. There was a moment of silence after Neal nodded. "I feel like I don't actually know that much about your background."

"Probably for the best."

Chuck wasn't convinced about that. Shouldn't they know more about each other in order to grow closer?

* * *

Mar'i floated high above the city. The final rays of the sun lit her face before disappearing over the horizon. It was almost time to return to Neal's but she didn't want to face him yet. Not when she didn't have the answer to her question. She slowly floated to the ground and started walking towards June's. She was let in by one of the maids and greeted June as she passed by the parlour.

"Neal has a guest up there," June informed her. She was a little surprised, after all, who would Neal have invited over?

As she opened the door, she heard Neal's voice.

"I have withstood some very creative torture before, do you really think this will get me say anything?"

Curious about what kind of torture he was being put through, Mar'i opened the door to find Chuck and Neal sitting at the dining room table and playing a game.

"Is that 'Guess Who'?" she questioned. Both Chuck and Neal had a grid of people on little flaps in front of them. As they asked questions, they would flip down the provided character's which didn't have the feature they were looking for.

"Yes," Neal responded in a huff. "It's the only game we could find aside from chess. Chuck seems to think that he can win and use that to ask me questions about my past."

"What kind of questions?" Mar'i asked.

"The kind about Agent A and the rest."

"See? Right there is not helping. You even call him 'Agent A'."

"He's not an official agent," Mar'i said.

"He used to be, which apparently makes it problematic that I hang out with him."

Mar'i sighed. This was going to be a long night then. "Can I steal your bed then?"

"No. It's my bed. You can have the couch."

"Neal!" Chuck said in a scandalised tone. "The man is supposed to take the couch!"

"Actually, it's the owner of the bed showing hospitality by giving it up to one who is a guest," Neal responded. "However, I enjoy making other people's lives difficult and turning such expectations on their head."

Mar'i wondered if Neal even liked her or if he hung out with her because of her father. After all, he was treating her just like everyone else right now.

Why was it so difficult to just ask whether he had been about to propose at some point in their lives. Then again, Neal was still Damian Wayne and Damian could be harsh with his words.

* * *

 

Neal looked up the moment his door opened, putting a finger to his lips to keep June and her try filled with food quiet.

"Is the young lady still asleep?" June asked quietly as she slipped in. Neal smiled and nodded. Chuck hadn't gone home either, having taken the couch since Mar'i had helped herself to his bed. Neal had slept outside on the beach chairs. They were more comfortable than one would think and the temperature never bothered him. New York couldn't compare to the scorching heat of the desert and the biting cold of the mountain alps; both places where he had trained under his mother and grandfather.

He opened the door to the balcony for June and slipped outside, flipping his fedora hat onto his head.


	12. Chapter 12

 

Neal looked up as Mar'i walked in with a phone in her hand. They stared at each other in surprise.

"Come and join us," June said, breaking the awkward silence.

"I was about to make a phone call," Mar'i said weakly, walking out. She sat down with a 'if you don't mind'. June didn't seem to mind at all, drawing her into a conversation about Byron and events in their past. Mar'i smiled and listened through all of it, asking questions where needed and adding edited stories about her own parents.

When she mentioned her mother having been a model, June asked, "what was her name? I've met a few models in my time."

Mar'i hesitated. She didn't know June all that well and her mother's name gave away a lot about her identity.

"Mar'i's last name is Grayson," Damian said. "Mar'i Grayson."

June gave him an indulgent smile. He was giving her most of the work to do as June couldn't immediately connect that name with any models she had known.

"I see you want me to do all the work. I may not be in my prime but I can still figure things out."

"Grayson's a fairly common last name too," Damian pointed out with a smug smile. June shook her finger at him.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Mar'i said with a tight grin.

"Don't be nervous, dear. If you don't want me to know, I won't pry."

"It's not that," Mar'i said. "I had actually been about to call my mother for some advice and I'm a little worried about how to approach a certain subject with her."

June thought about it for a moment and caught the little glance Mar'i sent Damian's way. "Hmm, how about some tea with me? We can talk about it and see if I can help you figure out what to say to her."

The door opened with a shuddering sound before Mar'i could answer. Chuck wandered out, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, what's up everyone?"

"I have no clue. They're talking some kind of woman's business and Peter's still in evidence lockup. Diana will be picking me up."

"Are you leaving soon?" June asked Chuck.

"No. We haven't even scheduled a flight out yet." Damian gave Chuck a confused look. Normally agents left once the job was done. "Don't look at me. Sarah's the one getting the orders. I haven't been able to ask my questions yet."

"You can stay. As long as you stay away from Agent A," Mar'i warned Chuck as she walked past.

"Hopefully we get the time to know each other better before you leave," June said. She turned to Damian. "I do prefer current company to those agents Agent Burke brings around."

"Chuck is an agent," Damian sighed as if June had forgotten. She hadn't but there must be some reason she didn't see Chuck as an agent.

Damian just hoped she wasn't underestimating Chuck. He could figure out secrets in a manner which seemed easy. He was just so trustworthy in a way which only very few people could be.

"June's not the type of person to underestimate someone," Damian informed Chuck. He picked up his hat from the table and flipped it onto his head.

"I don't doubt that. Anyway, I'll come to the FBI with you," Chuck said.

Damian shook his head. He didn't want Chuck following his footsteps all day. "It'll be boring."

"It's the FBI!"

"Yeah, okay. But it's still hours of paperwork and people doing their jobs. Nothing very exciting happening."

Chuck stared disbelievingly at Damian.

True to form, Chuck came to the FBI with Neal. His presence had kept Diana from commenting about the mess that Neal had landed their boss in. He watched Neal work through the morning paperwork and close a case with Diana and Jones, although they wouldn't let Neal or Chuck out into the field with them. Neal couldn't even lose Chuck when he went to get lunch.

* * *

Patterson; Peter's new and grumpier superior, opened the gate into evidence lock up. He glared at them both as they walked through. Chuck didn't flash a badge but he did have to show Patterson ID to prove that he was who he said he was. Both Chuck and Neal bit their tongues to keep from commenting that it was a wasted move with a known forger in the room. Neal could make Chuck a new ID in less than 24 hours.

"Neal, Chuck!" Peter sounded relieved to see them. He was surrounded by cellphones. "It's great of you both to visit but I'm sadly unable to leave for lunch. Not if I want to get this done in time."

"And when's that?" Chuck asked, looking around at the boxes of phones.

"Friday."

"Hopefully we can get you out of here by then, Peter," Neal said insistently.

"Neal, this isn't prison."

"It isn't?" Chuck questioned in surprise, causing Neal to snort a laugh. Chuck knew what to say in order to play along with a joke.

"In prison you at least get an hour out in the yard each day."

Peter heaved a sigh at Neal's comment and stood up. "Alright. We'll have lunch."

Chuck threw his hands into the air and cheered. After all, Peter had been the one to ask him to hang around Neal until he returned to White Collar. He would have liked to learn more about the agent he was doing this favour for as well.

* * *

The outside area was concrete with a wire fence around it. The scenery outside the fence was just as drab as it consisted of industrial silos, concrete and buildings.

"I know we were joking before but, are you sure this isn't prison?" Chuck said. "Because this looks a lot like prison."

"I get to go home to my lovely wife," Peter responded. "It's not prison when you're free to leave."

They sat down at the concrete table and Neal shared out the noodle boxes he had brought for lunch. Chuck grabbed his instantly with an 'awesome'. Peter quietly took his, checked it over and then started to eat.

"I suppose I owe you some explanations Peter," Neal said seriously. "Especially about this." He placed the picture onto the table.

Peter gave no apologies for stalking Neal to the location where the Raphael has possibly been hidden.

"You promised to explain everything," Peter reminded him.

Neal hesitated. "I thought I was going to be free when I said that."

"You could cut that anklet right now and run off with the CIA," Peter countered. "But you're still here."

It was a fair point. Neal was thinking of telling Peter pieces of his past anyway.

"Okay, so my past isn't a good one. My Dad was like a cop. He fought crime and there was a time I wanted to be just like him." Or kill him and take his place; Neal considered both of those to be the same thing. "But I was an angry child and he was an absent parent. Agent A was the one who made sure I had everything my physical body could need."

Neal tapped Alfred's image in the photograph.

"This man raised my father and he helped raise my brothers as well." Neal carefully watched Peter's and Chuck's expressions as he said that. He was certain that he hadn't mentioned his brothers in front of either of them before.

"I thought you had a sister, not brothers," Chuck commented.

Neal crinkled his nose even though a couple of candidates for sister came up in his mind. The only tolerable one was Cass Cain, although had had to admit that Barbara Gordon was skills, even if he couldn't tolerate her for more than 20 minutes.

"Anyway," he continued, "I was dropped into my father's lap at 10 years old with a screwed-up sense of morality."

He could hear the gasps of relief from his two friends. He glared at them. Chuck held up his hands in surrender but he was smiling. Neal knew they had no idea just how bad he had been.

"Continue," Peter ordered, nudging Chuck in the side.


	13. Chapter 13

Neal thought heavily about how much to tell them. Anything involving Batman and vigilantism was off the table but the rest of it could be told. Even the spy stuff.

"Let's start with this," Neal said, pulling out and sliding a non-disclosure agreement over to Peter. "This should protect us all." He had one for Chuck too. Chuck looked around and then leaned in close, even though they were the only ones here.

"Why me? I'm CIA."

"Honestly, I've added a clause in there that you're not allowed to disclose any of what I talk about today. I need that to include the CIA in case I slip up and give enough information for you to figure out my family. If you sign it, the CIA can't do anything should you refuse to answer their questions about today."

"Your family?" Chuck questioned flatly. However, he signed it, assuming that Neal was trying to protect his family. Plus, he was interested in Neal's past. Bryce had hinted at some things not being normal and there was also how he didn't really seem to understand how basic things; like shopping, worked, which had caught Chuck's curiosity early on.

When he saw that Chuck had signed, Peter signed as well. If Neal gave him any hints of crimes he had committed, then Peter would work to find information outside of Neal's confession to charge him.

Neal nodded, pleased that they had agreed to keep this all secret. After all, he was baring himself in this conversation and it made him twitchy. Or stabby as Jason liked to say.

"When I was a kid, my name wasn't Neal Caffrey or Bryce Larkin, those names came later. I took the name Bryce Larkin to hide my college education from my father and I claimed the name Neal Caffrey as mine while travelling New York." He looked Peter in the eye. "Peter, I already told you how I came to New York, met Mozzie and did a long con on Adler. What you didn't know was that I was the one who brought Kate in."

"What?" But Kate had been working for Adler longer than Neal had been.

"I brought Kate in earlier, when the CIA had a suspicion that Adler was up to something and dealing with some... less than savoury people."

"Adler?" Chuck questioned.

"Vincent Adler," Neal said in full, knowing that the phrase would trigger the Intersect and give Chuck all the knowledge he needed about the CIA's mission against Adler. "When the CIA put me on his case, I called Kate in to do some preliminary scouting. Which is why, when Kate needed protecting from Adler, I didn't mind calling the CIA in to protect her."

Chuck's mouth dropped open. All the CIA had known was that Bryce had seemed fond of the asset that was Kate. Some claimed that he was a little too fond, but Chuck didn't mind that. Kate, or Mar'i as he had known her, had been a great asset to the Buy More.

"Okay, so Neal was a CIA cover. What about the crimes you committed?" Peter questioned. "Those can't all be CIA missions."

"They aren't," Chuck said, raising an eyebrow at Neal.

"True," Neal said to Chuck. "Allegedly, I've done a lot of things. I've let people believe what they want so there are some things attributed to my name which I didn't actually do. And other things I may have allegedly done can be attributed to my family asking a favour." Because his brother had asked him to do illegal things as Neal. Not Jason. Not Tim. But Dick. And sometimes the Titans or Teen Titans. Damian was good at getting information and going undercover as a criminal to get it was almost encouraged by his family. "Neal gets me places and information I wouldn't otherwise get." Information that he wouldn't get without breaking a couple of bones first. And that kind of action gained him enemies, which was something he wanted to avoid.

"Your family asking for favours? What kind of family is it?" Peter questioned. "I know you said your father was a cop-"

"He's not exactly a cop. He's caught a lot of criminals but, if the police catch him, he'll end up behind bars just like them," Neal said, interrupting Peter. He had a feeling he knew why Peter was asking. The story was changing a little. "It was a white lie omitting some details." Like how he didn't mention that his whole family had passed the detective exam for Gotham police a number of times, although Dick had been the only one to do it on paper.

"What's your family like?" Chuck asked. "I remember when you couldn't even figure out how to pay for your groceries."

Damian's cheeks went red. "That's because I was used to Agent A shopping for us."

"The guy in the photo?"

"He looks after our family. Like a butler." Well, not 'like' but he didn't want them making connections between Agent A and Alfred Pennyworth.

"He's what I can tell you about my family without them knocking in the door to meet you all." Probably not the best choice of words. "You really don't want to meet them," he tried to insist. "My father's parents died when he was young. When the same thing happened years later to my older brother and my father took him in. It was just them for years until they picked up another orphan from the streets. Something bad happened to that one and my mother took him in for a while. This was while I was living with her and my grandfather. They are not nice people." He repeated that part to make it clear that they were some of the family that he didn't want Peter and Chuck in the same room with. "My father picked up another boy, a couple of girls and then I came along. My father disappeared for a year and my eldest brother raised me. I was around 10 years old when that happened. When I was 17, I decided to go to college. And so Bryce Larkin was born."

* * *

Chuck and Peter shared a look.

"That was a description of your family and yet, it told us nothing," Peter said.

"Except that your father seemed to want a big family. It must be nice."

"We try to kill each other on a regular basis," Neal pointed out and he really wished he was lying. It sometimes got tiring having to deal with his older brothers. Even Dick. He was the nicest and he still had a temper which made people cower in fear.

"Still, sounds like fun," Chuck said.

"You have Ellie."

"Who's married and doesn't live in Burbank anymore."

"Ellie moved?"

Chuck started talking about his life after Bryce had left. Neal congratulated him when he said he had married Sarah.

"Actually, that reminds me," Peter mused. He was giving Neal a look that he didn't like. Neal could feel his stomach sinking with Peter's gaze locked on him. "With Kate back in the picture, are you two doing anything?"

"She's staying at my apartment," Neal said, avoiding the real question. These two were worst than gossips. They didn't spread the information but they would keep digging until they found what they were after.

"Nice. So, are you rekindling the romance?" Chuck asked. "Mar'i told me about the bottle thing."

Mar'i told him about getting cheep pizza and filling an empty wine bottle with cheep wine? "It wasn't a thing. It was a couple of dinners because it was easy."

"You should do that again. I bet she would love it," Peter said.

Neal sighed. "I don't know. After all, it's been a while. I don't even know if she still likes me like that."

"What happened to Kate being the one?" Peter asked. "Is it any different now that she's 'Mar'i'?"

"I know one thing, Mar'i could have gone anywhere. She didn't have to stay at the Buy More. But she did. Please tell me you're planning to romance her."

"It's really none of your business, Chuck," Neal snapped. Peter was surprised, having never heard Neal take that tone before.

"Come on Bryce." Chuck didn't seem phased at all. Maybe it was a Bryce thing and not a Neal one?

"You shouldn't pressure me into hanging out with another person," Neal pointed out.

Chuck slouched and his eyes unconsciously made a sad, kicked puppy expression. Even Peter looked sympathetic when he looked at Chuck for more than a moment.

"Maybe you could just talk to her about where you are in your relationship?" Peter suggested. "After all, it's a partnership when you decide to be with someone, not a dictatorship."

The cheesy line which probably came from El and Neal rolled his eyes at it.


	14. Chapter 14

 

While the rivalry between Damian and his brothers had cooled off as he grew up and found other ways to disappoint father, Damian still kept his happy distance from them. Especially Tim. The time he had thought Tim was dead was enough to cool some of his anger towards the other boy.

Or so he kept reminding himself when he came face to face with Timothy Drake.

"Who let you in?" he questioned with a curled nose and raised eyebrow.

Tim smiled and let himself in. Damian pulled his shoulders back and drew himself up higher. He was taller than this apartment crasher and he would remind him of the fact now. Tim was unfazed as he took a seat at the table.

"June let me in. I have a favour to ask you." Damian opened his mouth to respond when Tim glared at him. "You owe me, Damian."

He did. This was why Damian hated owing favours.

"What do you want then?"

Tim handed him a picture. It was of a blond woman in a painter's shirt. Despite the paint on the shirt, she looked like she hired a stylist. A woman of money.

"That's Sophie Covington. She's an acquaintance of mine. Her husband was not an upstanding citizen and I'm sure the FBI was right on his doorstep when he died, but she's as innocent as they come. Think like Stephanie."

"Brown?" Damian said, glaring at the picture. He didn't see the resemblance at all. "I wouldn't call her 'innocent'."

"But she's not a criminal. And neither is Sophie."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Everyone thinks she killed her husband. She's been cleared of the crime but still-"

"The black stain won't go away. It's hard to convince people otherwise when they've already made up their mind," Damian said. Now he felt a connection to the stupid picture and the person in it. "Alright, what do you want me do?"

Tim grinned. "Get close to her. Look out for her. Keep the FBI off her back as much as possible. She doesn't deserve the hounding."

"How do I meet with her?" Damian asked.

"She's locked up in a prison of her own making. People are trying to keep her safe so she's really not able to meet new people. I told her you'd be at the memorial service for her husband."

Damian groaned. He didn't want to go.

"You owe me," Tim reminded him. At least the memorial service was a couple of days away.

* * *

Neal picked up a sandwich for Peter before entering the evidence lock up.

"Hey," he greeted his favourite FBI agent. Peter was still cataloguing phones.

"Not now Neal, I've got less than 50 of these to go and then a couple of shipments of googly eyes."

"I picked up a sandwich on my way back from the bank. Surely that's worth a couple of moments of your time?"

Peter took the sandwich and unwrapped it. He looked it over for a couple of moments before taking a bite.

"What were you doing at the bank?"

"I got my first pay check after getting back. I deposited it into my rainy day account."

"Rainy day account?"

Neal shrugged. "With what I get paid, all I can afford is an umbrella." Maybe he was too used to a higher class of living as Peter didn't smile at the joke.

"Did you happen to tell Sara about Kate being back?" Peter suddenly asked.

"That's a change of subject. Why would I?"

Neal turned just in time to see Sara walking into the cage.

"Neal," she greeted him in a cold tone.

"Sara."

"What brings you here?" Peter asked quickly, before one of them could say something they would regret.

Sara turned to Peter. "I'm working the Covington Settlement."

Those two words had Neal's interest right away. It would make things easier if Sara was working it. He could keep an eye on the investigation from this side while repaying his favour to Tim. He was not surprised that Sara believed Sophie was not as innocent as she appeared. It was part of her job to go in believing that the person she was investigating was trying to trick her and Sophie didn't look so innocent when one looked at the facts.

But it wasn't like Sophie did much to defend her public image. Like most people who suddenly found themselves in the public spotlight, it seemed she was still underestimating the effect news and public opinion would have on her day to day life.

Sara asked for whatever help Peter could give her and Neal also jumped into offer his help. They were going to watching over her at the memorial service.

* * *

Neal marvelled at how he had a reason to be here as the guns went off for a 21-gun salute.

"It's nice to see that even a year after his death, Covington's ego lives on," Peter commented. He decided to get out and take a closer look. While he had asked a couple of times, Neal wasn't giving up any information about Sara or Kate.

Neal watched in surprise as Peter bumped into her and apologised. She was leaving early and hurried away from Peter after apologising.

A van pulled up as Neal was watching and he jumped into action automatically. He knocked out one of the kidnappers before pulling Sophie to the ground and away from any weapons they might be carrying.

Unfortunately, that gave them time to rescue their unconscious comrade and drive off.

Neal muttered a curse under his breath. Then he recalled the code phrase Tim had given him.

"I guess I'm here to be your night in shining armour," he mumbled, feeling his face heat up a little. Being Neal had made it so that he could say cheesy lines like that and make them work but that didn't mean he didn't get embarrassed sometimes, especially when they were said at the wrong time.

Sophie's eyes widened. "Indeed. You're very attractive," she commented in a little shocked voice. It was breathy and Neal was acutely reminded that she was lying on top of him. "And, I think you just saved my life."

"You could be right," Neal said sitting up and getting her weight off him. "Are you okay?"

She didn't get a chance to answer him before her security came up and carried her off. Neal blindly placed his hand where his hat should have been only to find it gone.

"Neal?" Peter questioned. He helped Neal up and looked him up and down for any sign of injuries.

"I think she stole my hat," he commented, not sure if he was impressed or annoyed. 

* * *

Neal returned home to find Mar'i and Tim both in his apartment. Mar'i was curled up on the couch, reading a book, and Tim was sitting at the table with a computer in front of him.

"If it isn't the man of the hour," Mar'i said in a teasing tone, floating off the couch.

"I told you to help her with the FBI, not help the FBI to her," Tim complained.

"I would think you would approve of the idea of getting insider information. I need to know what the FBI knows to help Sophie. Although it's very little at this point."

"That's true. But working with your ex can be awkward," Tim said.

"Is that how you feel about Stephanie?" Mar'i questioned.

"You don't mind?" Neal questioned as she wasn't tearing him a new one for working with his ex-girlfriend.

"I want to meet the woman who would agree to go out with you," she said. "And it's not like either of us are dating you right now, right?"

Tim looked between the two, eyes wide and a grin twitching to life on his face as he watched the drama unfold.

Neal rubbed the back of his neck. He had thought that Mar'i still had feelings for him. He wasn't certain if he should still have feelings for someone who had moved on.

"You don't have to be jealous of your friends hanging out with their ex's," Mar'i said.

"What about your boyfriend hanging out with their ex?" Neal asked pointedly.

There was a clutter as the pen which had been in Tim's mouth hit the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

 

Mar'i stared at Damian for a couple of moments before crossing the space between them.

"And what do you mean?" she questioned honestly. Not so honestly placed was the hand she had resting on his arm. "Are we dating?"

"Are we?" Damian asked. "I didn't think we stopped."

"Well, you did date Sara for a short time."

"So you are jealous."

"You're just putting words in my mouth. I'm pointing out that your dating Sara was probably a good indication that we weren't dating."

This was something that Damian hadn't thought about. Kate hadn't been in his life during that time so he had spent a little bit of time with Sara. She had been fun and it had helped him forget about how he probably wouldn't have Mar'i back in his life while acting as Neal or Bryce.

"You're right," he said. He wanted her to be jealous because it would mean that she wanted to be with him. Asking would hurt but he figured he might as well go for it. "My behaviour is shameful. So, I'll ask. Would you like to date again?" Because she could answer, he nervously added, "I promise this time won't end with you being blown up in an airplane."

Mar'i giggled. "I actually enjoyed pulling one over everyone with the plane. But, I don't think you liked it-"

"I did not." His acting had seemed so honest because he considered the worst case scenario first; that something had gone wrong and she had really died.

"So I won't do it again." She brushed her lips against his cheek and then his lips. "And you're not allowed to die either. Getting shot as Bryce gave me a heart attack you know."

"I admit that was a lapse in judgement," Damian admitted quietly. "I had a back up plan which made me foolhardy."

"Oh?"

The door opened quickly as Chuck walked in with a hello and a smile. Realising how close they were, Damian and Mar'i broke apart, taking a couple of steps away.

"Oh thank goodness!" Tim gasped. He hadn't been able to look away but he hadn't wanted to watch either. "Chuck, perfect timing!"

Chuck took in Damian's flushed face and the way Mar'i was looking away. Was it really perfect timing? And how did the other man know who he was? "Am I interrupting something?"

"Mar'i and I are dating again," Damian announced with his chest forward and his hands crossed over it.

Chuck gave them a confused look. "Again? Did you break up?"

"We've been broken up since the plane exploded. I think," Damian said.

Chuck did a double take, his face scrunching up in thought. "But the way you both were acting... I thought you were dating while Mar'i was working at the Buy More. We miss you by the way."

"That's why I said 'I think'. It's difficult to know when we broke up. At least we are on the same page now."

"Mostly," Mar'i said. "There's still something we need to talk about."

"What's that?"

"Is Mar'i dating Damian or Neal or what?"

"Oh," Damian said in realisation. "Secret IDs. I guess both Neal and Damian are dating Mar'i."

"That's a terrible idea."

"No one asked you, Drake."

Tim bristled at the use of his last name, knowing that Damian used it only when he was angry or irritated. Basically as an insult.

"How's Mar'i supposed to explain dating two guys?"

"Three," Chuck said. "I assume you'll still be taking Bryce Larkin's identity from time to time."

"Fair point."

"Someone's going to notice that the girlfriend is the same in each case. And they'll look closer," Tim pointed out.

Mar'i sighed.

"You're all forgetting something. That only matters if someone meets Neal and Damian or Neal and Bryce or Bryce and Damian. As long as they only know one ID, I'm safe."

Tim muttered under his breath. "That's a terrible plan."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Chuck said. "Anyone who meets more than one probably already knows that Neal is Bryce and... who's Damian?"

"Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne. Heir to the-" Tim ducked under the knife tossed his way.

Chuck's eyelids twitched and fluttered. He flashed on the name 'Bruce Wayne'. "Neal."

"Yes?"

"Why is your father listed as 'dangerous' to the CIA?"

"Oh! Oh! Do mine! My dad's name is Dick Grayson!"

"Mar'i-" Damian had been about to say that it didn't work like that when Chuck flashed again. "Nevermind."

"Um... do you know that your dad has worked for the CIA before? He's also annoyed the CIA multiple times by interfering in their missions."

Three surprised looks were sent Chuck's way. He felt himself shrink under those gazes.

"Well, I suppose he can't say anything about me helping you guys out," Mar'i mused.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Tim asked.

* * *

Tim wasn't too satisfied with their plan to help Sophie. He felt there were too many holes in the plan, too many things they didn't know. Neal just shrugged and mentioned a couple of plans he had depending on how things would go.

"Now can we talk about Peter?" Neal said, giving Chuck a look. Chuck had been sitting and just listening because he didn't have any stake in the Sophie case. In fact, Neal would have been surprised if Chuck even knew who they were talking about. "Any luck finding the ones who complained about Peter?"

Chuck shook his head. "Whoever they are, they've keeping a low profile now that they've achieved their goal."

"Shouldn't their names be on a form somewhere?" Tim questioned.

"They submitted their concerns anonymously," Chuck said.

Tim hummed in an interested tone.

"I think Uncle Tim is taking that as a challenge," Mar'i said.

Chuck shrugged. "I'll take whatever help I can get."

"Even if I have to break the law to get the information you want?"

"We have no idea who we're dealing with," Damian reminded Tim. "We can worry about getting admissible evidence against them when we have some idea who we're looking for."

Tim nodded his understanding and started typing away. Damian didn't know how Tim would figure it out but he didn't doubt that the skinny, shaggy adult could figure it out. Tim looked more like he belonged in the Buy More than Chuck did. Of course, it seemed par for the course that Buy More employees were hiding muscle underneath their uniforms.

"Are there any plans for getting Peter reinstated without finding the culprits?" Chuck asked.

Damian sighed. "If we can get him to solve a case, the board might reinstate him. However, he's banned from working cases."

Mar'i could see the catch 22 in there. They had already tried to find a loophole by purposefully requesting that Peter take their case but it didn't work. It was too early to bring in the capes in order to help Peter and Damian had already told them that Peter would not approve. It was a last resort.

They hoped that Tim could find something.

* * *

Sophie walked into the FBI with her lawyer on her side. She sat through the routine of being interviewed about the attempted kidnapping which took place as she had left the service. She ignored all questions about her dead husband and her private life. As she left, he made an interesting comment about getting the FBI to call off the tail they had on her.

No one admitted to having a tail on her. Not even the CIA, not that they cared about some random civilian.

"What now?" Neal asked Peter. Peter had managed to get Hughes to take him on as a consultant with this case. It would work wonderfully into their plans to get Peter reinstated... except Neal wasn't about to let Sophie get arrested. According to Tim and corroborated by the research Damian had done himself, she was innocent of all the things the FBI and Sterling Bosh were trying to convict her for.

Peter mused on whether she would be more willing to to talk to the man who saved her.

Neal knew that she would, but not for the reasons Peter thought. Even so, Neal walked out and got her number from her and made plans to meet up for a lunch at her place.

"Do you mind if I bring my girlfriend?" he asked. "We just got our relationship status sorted out and she recently moved here, away from her friends."

Sophie smiled at the news. The more the merrier.


	16. Chapter 16

 

Chuck's phone rang with an increasingly familiar number.

"Hey, Agent Burke!"

"Hey, Chuck. How's life on the other side?"

"Not so busy right now," Chuck responded. It really wasn't. Although the Bryce Larkin mission was about to come to a close, Chuck had lodged some holiday time. There was something else going on with his friend and he wanted to figure it out.

"You haven't taken up private investigating have you?" Peter explained about the Sophie case and how there was someone following her.

"I'm not the kind of guy you hire to look into gold diggers," Chuck commented. "Although I guess if you're going to pay-"

"I'm not looking to hire you. Actually I called because of Neal. It seems he and Kate; or Mar'i, are back together again."

"Yeah, that happened this morning. They mostly talked everything out."

"Mostly?"

"It did get awkward for a bit."

Peter couldn't actually imagine that. What did Chuck mean? Did they get into bed together? Were they having a meal? Were they getting in each other's space? Was there kissing?

"At the very least," Chuck continued, "they're on the same page now."

"I wonder what Neal will do about Sara though."

"I think he said that they could just be friends. Mar'i didn't seem to mind."

"I wonder if Sara will mind?" Peter mused out loud.

"Whether she does or doesn't, it doesn't matter so much either way. If she does mind, she'll have to leave the picture. If she doesn't mind, then they're all friends and everything goes well. Besides, it's not like you've seen her since she gave you the case." Chuck hoped that Peter wouldn't catch on that he was talking from experience.

"I'm barred from field work and cases. She gave Clinton the case. And why am I not surprised that you know that?"

Chuck didn't answer that. Instead he started talking about how Neal and Mar'i were going to be good for each other and whether Peter thought they could convince them to have a double date with them and their wives.

* * *

Mar'i walked beside Neal, eyes fixed on the townhouse they were coming up to. She had been quiet and contemplative all morning.

"Okay," Neal sighed before walking up to the door. "Let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Whatever worries you have about this. I might not learn a lot in the FBI office but I have learnt that some people are very intuitive. Basically, sometimes it's foolish to bet against the gut."

Mar'i giggled. She never thought that those words would come from Damian's mouth. He did know that intuitive feelings were important but to phrase it like that. "Is that something you've picked up from the FBI office as well?"

"I may have made a miscalculation which led to me losing some money," Neal responded, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding her eyes.

"You really shouldn't gamble," Mar'i said. Damian was terrible at it for some reason. Games of chance were not his strength.

"Not everyone can have your luck, you know," Neal muttered. "Can you just tell me what's bothering you?"

Harsh, but she had been avoiding the question. "I wonder how much Sophie knows. Does she know Tim or RR?"

Neal paused and then knocked. He had no clue and it was probably something he should have asked.

Inside, the found Sophie talking with a grumpy guy in a suit. His name was Mailer and he had been a friend of her husband. He was nosy for a friend, questioning Neal and Mar'i on why they were there.

Sophie got Neal's hat to return it to them. She ran her hand along the brim.

"Vintage. I almost hate to part with it," she said. She looked up at them. "You were sent here by him, weren't you?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'him'," Neal countered.

"Tim Drake. I knew him in college. He said, if I encountered any trouble, to contact him and he would help." Sophie looked at the ground as she spoke, softly, as if the words she was saying were some great secret. "You're the help he sent, correct?"

"That's correct. Although I doubt he would have mentioned me. We don't really get along," Neal said.

"You're the youngest Wayne-"

"Damian, yes," Neal responded with a nod of his head. "And this is Mar'i."

Sophie shook Mar'i's hand. "You'll have to call him Neal. There aren't many in New York who know the name 'Damian'."

"You hide from the press, I hide from people who want to compare me to my dad. Huh, which is mostly the press," Neal mused. "And some big businessmen."

"Probably the FBI too, if they knew who your father was, things could get complicated."

"Anyway, why did you call Tim?" Neal asked Sophie. Sophie motioned for them to take a seat.

"Um, well, it's mostly because I've got the FBI on my tail because they think I had something to do with my husband's death. It's been a year and they're not letting up. Plus, there's someone watching me. I had no idea what to do so I called Tim for help."

Neal mused on that for a moment.

"Okay, so we'll start looking into the person watching you. The FBI is interested in him anyway. There's not much I can do about the FBI because I'll leave when they're finished with you."

"At least you'll know when they're done with their investigation." Mar'i smiled at Sophie.

Sophie smiled weakly back.

Neal shrugged. "They have nothing anyway."

"I guess that's alright then. As long as I don't have to face that Insurance Investigator again."

"Sara?" Neal thought about that. "Yeah, she can be a little... strong. I think some of it is because her job requires her to be methodical and examine every possibility."

"That's an interesting way to phrase 'conduct a witch hunt'," Sophie said flatly. She stared at Neal and he flipped his returned hat back onto his head.

"You'll be fine. It's not like you were assigned to murder her." He received two blank stares for that comment. "When we met again, for the first time since I became a CI, I went undercover as her assassin."

"Neal," Mar'i sighed.

"What? We didn't know that the guy was supposed to be an assassin. Well, not until I was handed a gun and told to shot the sleeping person in what seemed like a random apartment building."

"You lead an interesting life," Sophie commented. Mar'i looked over at her art awards, finding a new topic for conversation. It was a good one as Neal could talk art until the sun set.

* * *

As they bid Sophie goodbye, Neal looped his arm in Mar'i's and guided her down the street. As they walked, Mar'i noticed the person following them. His hair looked like it was going grey early, although the brown colour was still going strong. He was in a regular olive coloured jacket which made her wonder if he had been army at some point.

Neal's phone went off. Peter and Jones asked him to loose the tail so that they could follow the PI home when he realised he lost them.

"I'd rather leave him for Tim," Mar'i hummed. Neal frowned, considering the pros and cons of that.

"Peter's asked us to loose him and we owe him. He did lose his hard-earned position because of us," he said, pulling on her arm just enough that she could change directions with him as he turned. "Ready?" he whispered to her.

"I could fly."

"Why do that when we can vanish the old fashioned way?" They moved into the crowd, breaking apart. Neal stepped in time with another man and Mar'i stopped and looked around, confused. A moment later, she followed Neal into the crowd, doing the same thing with a different person.

And just like that, Freddy Slavkin; PI, lost the two people he had been tailing. Mar'i and Neal waved to the agents and then to the rooftops. Then they made their way into the park for a walk together.


	17. Chapter 17

 

Jones met Neal back at Peter's house, after following Slavkin back to his apartment and storming the place. Jones logged everything at the FBI and then brought his findings to the Burkes right after dinner. He walked in on Neal and El having a glass of wine each, Peter gulping down a glass of water and El asking Neal when they would get to see Kate again.

"She's going by Mar'i," Neal pointed out, avoiding the question.

"Mary? That's a nice name."

"She was named for her mother and her grandmother."

"I thought her mother's name was Kori," Chuck commented, popping up from behind Jones. He smiled and waved. "Hi everyone! I brought cake!"

Jones looked from Chuck to Peter and silently questioned whether this was okay.

"Chuck, we're not involving you in an FBI case," Neal sighed.

"Not even one as juicy as Sophie Covington?" El questioned with a grin. "There's so much about her in the news. What's she like?"

"As far as I can tell, she's not into money, murder or Mailer," Neal responded. "She's a nice girl. Too bad someone's taking advantage of that." Neal and Jones looked over the photos Slavkin brought, along with all the other information the FBI had collected about Mailer. Mailer bought Sophie expensive gifts he couldn't afford, called her and seemed to be in her presence a lot; despite her pushing him away.

"He's at the memorial here," Chuck mused, pointing to a photo taken at the beginning where Sophie was pushing the man away. "But not here." He moved his hands over to the photos taken towards the end of the memorial.

"That's because he's our kidnapper," Peter said before Neal could.

"Sophie's about to come into the money, her husband's insurance payout. Mailer wants it."

"He probably feels owed it," Jones said, "since he and Mailer worked together."

It was probably more than the FBI first realised because Neal suspected that Mailer had been insider trading along with the Mr. Covington.

"This is a mess," Chuck said, looking over everything. "I hope someone's looking after Sophie."

"I'm going back tomorrow, with Mar'i again. Mar'i will probably be a good friend for her."

"Mailer's going to try again," Peter said. He looked at Neal. "Unless he's convinced someone else got there first."

"What?"

"No way," Neal said over Chuck's bafflement. "You're asking me to con a widow. I won't do it."

"Neal. It's this or she's kidnapped, the money forcibly taken from her and I doubt Mailer will let her go intact when he has what he wants."

Neal figured he wouldn't have to con her. Just everyone around her. "Fine."

* * *

Back at the apartment, Neal found Mozzie sitting across from Tim and holding cards.

"Go fish," Tim said to Mozzie with a smug grin.

Mozzie huffed and picked up a card from the pile.

"Go fish?" Neal questioned. Wasn't that a game for children? "Not poker?"

"Hey, how was the Burkes?" Tim asked.

"What are you doing here?" Neal said instead.

Mozzie gave him a surprised but curious look.

"Mozzie invited me. I believe he's trying to figure out the connection between us and what I can tell him about your past."

Neal looked at Mozzie out of the corner of his eye and shook his head slightly.

"I'm not talking," Tim said with a grin. It was more fun to mess with Moz. "Besides, it's not like there's anything he'd want to hear. 5 of hearts."

Mozzie was confused for a moment before looking at the cards in his hand. He passed Tim the requested card.

"Give me something. He forged his school ID. He, uh, conned the bullies out of their milk money. An ace of spades."

"An ace of spades I have." Tim tossed him the requested card.

"Wore ties to preschool!"

Tim imagined that for a moment, his gaze going distant before he scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I wouldn't know. We didn't meet until he was ten and that was a joy and a half." Tim's tone said it was the exact opposite. After a moment, he threw Mozzie a bone. "We could never keep him locked in his room for punishment. He would always find a way out."

"That was true of any one of us," Neal countered. Then he paused. "That's not a compliment to you or any of the others." Mozzie waved him off, palming a card while he was at it.

"Quiet Neal, I'm finally getting information out of him."

Neal clicked his tongue. "Tim doesn't know anything."

"I know about you getting expelled on your first day at Gotham Academy."

How? Tim hadn't even been in Gotham at the time.

"Gotham." Mozzie's eyes went wide and he took off his glasses to rub at them. "That explains a lot. No wonder you both play cards like you're gambling everything and can pick locks and spring across rooftops."

"Sorry for not telling you, Moz. I just didn't think it was important. Gotham is a part of my past."

"Not if your father has his way," Tim said. "Word of what's going on here hasn't reached his ear yet, but it will. Three of hearts."

"Is that a threat?"

Mozzie grabbed the pile of cards and placed it in front of Tim. "Go. Fish."

Tim slowly picked up the top card, not taking his eyes off Mozzie.

"Keep Neal's whereabouts secret, Timmy."

"Don't call me Timmy." Tim had three cards left. Mozzie had four.

They were both using sleight of hand and tricks to cheat. This battle was going to take a while.

"I'll have no reason to help your friend if father pulls me out," he said to Tim. With that said, he grabbed a book and went out to the balcony where it was quiet.

* * *

Sophie smiled at Neal and Mar'i as she opened the door to them. She invited them in, oblivious to the man taking photos from a park bench. Mozzie walked over and sat down, pulling out his own camera and taking a couple of shots. He zoomed in on Neal's hand, which was wrapped around Mar'i's waist. Mar'i's smile was clearly visible through the camera as they walked inside.

"Are you a fellow ornithologist?" Freddy Slavkin questioned. The man looked the type with his dark and bulky clothes which were good for the weather but also good for staying unnoticed outside. The beanie was also a touch which had Freddy thinking that this man was like him. The man gave a hum in response, rather than saying out loud what they were doing. "What kind of bird are you watching?"

"Birds," Mozzie corrected. "The kind who gang up, take nest eggs and fly south for the winter."

"Those two only just started coming around, you know?"

"They smell the greenbacks, yeah? You know the guy by a number of names; Nick Halden, George Devore... Neal Caffrey. The girl is lesser known as she stayed off the radar while supplementing Neal's cons and enjoying the riches."

Freddy knew that women could be savage for money. Just look at the one who hired him. While she didn't care about the money she sent his way for pictures of the woman she thought was sleeping with her husband, she did care about losing her husband and the money he brought in. It was rarely men who hired him to find evidence of their significant other cheating.

While his client, Mailer's wife, wouldn't be interested in knowing that the woman she was watching had friends, she might be interested in knowing that they were only after her money so Freddy took note of the information.


	18. Chapter 18

 

Mar'i was almost drooling at the smell. Paella was such a colourful dish and she couldn't wait to try it. Sophie and Neal spoke about art while Neal cooked, a skill that he certainly hadn't inherited from his father.

"Where did you learn to cook?" she asked since cooking was something very few of her family knew how to do. Not to mention, Damian's father couldn't even boil water properly. Sophie stopped talking and looked at her with wide eyes.

"He couldn't always cook?" she said, eyes sparkling. Mar'i wondered if she was as interested in people's stories as she was. Mar'i loved a good story.

"No. In fact, most of his family cause small accidents when they're in the kitchen."

"Jason can cook," Neal muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Mar'i heard him.

"Everything except toast. He can't get the settings right and overcooks it in his attempts to make it perfect," Mar'i reminded him. It was amazing that someone who loved eating bread-based dishes, couldn't actually make bread into toast without making it smoke.

"What about your father?" Neal questioned.

"Dad can't cook," Mar'i said. "Not like that." Her father preferred quick to make dinners of the microwavable variety. Nothing which filled the house with wonderful scents.

Neal didn't argue the point. He had seen his family cook after all.

"Sometimes you can't always rely on a butler to cook for you," he said. "And I learnt how to survive. Cooking is part of that."

Mar'i stared at him, not fully comprehending. She could guess that this probably had something to do with his assassin upbringing but nothing more. Neal grinned at her as he started serving out the red and yellow contents of his pan into small plates.

"Here. By the way, there's no meat in this," he said, holding out a plate for her and one for Sophie.

"Thank you," Sophie said. Mar'i just stuck out her tongue at Neal, blowing on the food before taking a bite.

As had been planned, Sophie started talking about the upcoming gala her charity was hosting. She was going to donate the insurance settlement but wasn't planning on going.

"Why not? I bet Neal could take you," Mar'i suggested as planned.

Sophie was surprised. "You would be okay with that?"

"You need someone to go with, right? Why not a friend?" Mar'i said with a shrug. "Besides charity galas can be boring without a friend."

Neal groaned. "So boring. Why do people hold them anyway? They're just an excuse for people to flaunt."

Sophie giggled. "To raise money for charities and to help others while having a good time."

Neal and Mar'i shared a look which silently communicated the 'who has a good time?' message.

"Whatever reason, I'll keep you company."

"You don't seem to enjoy them and I'd hate to be a bother."

"They're better with friends," Neal reminded her with a grin. "Besides Tim asked us to keep an eye on you. Let me come and Mar'i will spend this afternoon helping you pick a dress."

"Really?" Sophie questioned in disbelief. However, Mar'i grinned at the idea.

"That's a wonderful idea!" She enjoyed making others feel nice and dressing them up was a way to achieve that goal.

* * *

The last thing Neal had been expecting was to be called in by Hughes. He walked into the older man's office, feeling a little like he was walking in front of a firing squad.

"Caffrey," he greeted him, motioning for Neal to take a seat.

"Where's Peter?" Normally Peter would be around for things like this. Since he had been consulting on the case, it had begun to feel like old times.

"Back working in evidence. There's no longer anything to consult on."

Neal disagreed but Hughes was having none of it. He himself was going to be in the van on the night of the gala to make sure that everything runs smoothly and they catch Mailer in the act. But this wasn't something that Neal needed to be pulled away from everyone else to have explained to him.

"Is there something else, sir?" he asked.

"Yes. I looked into the other person who has been hanging around lately." Neal's first thought was Tim and whether Hughes had managed to connect Neal to Damian Wayne. He was going to hurt Tim if that was the case. "Charles Bartowski." Neal breathed a sigh of relief. Not the Wayne family then. "Caffrey, I don't like the CIA hanging around. It means problems. It was bad enough he was there during your island vacation-"

"If I may say so, it wasn't much of a vacation, sir."

Hughes stared at Neal for a couple of moments before he continued, "and there is obviously a relationship between you two."

"Chuck's my friend. And he's on holiday from the CIA right now. Apparently he has a lot of leave saved up and hasn't been to New York before."

The air in the office was tense for a few moments while Hughes thought about that. Although he didn't believe Neal was telling the whole truth, he decided to not fight it at this moment.

"And the girl... Kate?"

"Mar'i."

"How long is she going to be around?"

Neal felt his face heat up. If he wasn't a criminal on work release, he would question the appropriateness of that question. However, he understood why Hughes was asking it. As a criminal on work release, Hughes was allowed to question and look into the people around Neal.

As annoying as that was.

"As long as she'll have me."

* * *

Neal thought about Hughes' questions the next couple of hours. He had some idea what Hughes was getting at but didn't really understand why he brought Mar'i into it. While Hughes seemed to get the idea that Neal worked for another organisation, did he think the same about Mar'i? Did vigilantism could as another organisation?

"You seem to be thinking hard. It's not because of me, is it?" Sophie commented with a smile at him. They were in the limo, heading towards the gala. At the location of the gala, Neal knew that Hughes was sitting in an unmarked van with a team of agents ready to storm the place at the first sign of Mailer.

"No. It's... relationships," Neal said vaguely, letting her draw her own conclusions. He would be quick to admit that he was not the best at building work relationships but that was only if she could guess that work was getting him down.

Sophie gasped and took his hands in hers. "Don't doubt yourself. You and Mar'i make such a cute couple!"

Neal stared at her earnest expression. He had no idea people could say stuff like that and mean it. Very few people in Gotham could be so honest and heartfelt when it came to the circumstances of others. He found himself wondering if Sophie knew much about the darkness of the world.

A glint of gold from the driver's seat caught Neal's attention. The driver was wearing an expensive watch. Really expensive.

"That the new Fathom 20?"

"It is."

"Pricey. Was it worth it?"

"I think so."

Great. Tony the driver was going to hand them over to Mailer and let them be killed. Neal spared a glance at Sophie. She was looking between them and seemed to have no idea what the conversation meant.

Neal needed her out of this car and out of harm's way. "You know, you should be careful who you invite into your home. It's an easy way into a person's trust."

"What?"

"You felt bad about all that money you got so I helped you out. Your banking information wasn't too hard to find. Most people set security questions which can be answered by checking out social media or even asking them." Let Tony think that Neal was the one he needed and maybe Sophie would get out of this.

"What are you talking about?" Sophie demanded to know. Seems she had an idea now.

"I took the money off your hands."

Sophie's mouth dropped. She turned to her driver. "Tony, pull over. I- I need a moment."

"Tony doesn't work for you anymore. That watch means Tony can be bought. Maybe he wants to come work for me."

Tony didn't seem to impressed with that, judging by the gun he pulled out of the glove-box. At least he pulled over like the lady asked, although it was to push her out.

"By the time you contact that FBI agent, Burke, we'll be long gone," Neal said to her. Unfortunately, his little hint caused Tony to take Sophie's phone. It seemed that Tony wouldn't let himself be bought by Neal's suggestions but that was fine. It was the one who first bought Tony out that Neal was interested in.

* * *

Sophie ran into the nearest store and borrowed their phone to call Tim.

"The person you sent just robbed me!" she cried into the phone. "He said he took my husband's life insurance out of my account!"

A car pulled up and the door opened to reveal Tim. He had a serious expression on his face as he walked through the door, one which kept her from scolding him some more for sending a conman to help her.

"Get in the car and tell me exactly what he said."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Peter had been surprised to get a call from Sophie. Neal had said his name, reminding her that she had the contact number for an FBI agent in her purse. Thankfully, Tony hadn't taken that when he had driven off with Neal. Now Peter gathered Hughes and his team in the White Collar office as Sophie walked into the conference room.

"This is-"

"Timothy Drake-Wayne, heir to Wayne Industries," Tim said, holding out his hand for Hughes and Peter to shake. "Sophie's a friend of mine. I was devastated to hear about what had happened. To think that a conman would be able to get so close-" As expected, Peter interrupted him. They received the story about how Neal worked for the FBI and intervened to keep Sophie from being kidnapped. Mar'i was his partner and, as far as they could all tell, that was real.

"I can't believe Tony was paid off like that," Sophie whimpered. She looked really to crawl into bed and forgot about everything that had happened so far.

"We have a bigger problem," Peter said. "Neal used you to pass a message. He needs 50 million put into his rainy day account or Mailer's going to kill him before we can find him."

"That's not good," Sophie said. "I don't have that much money. I only have access to half of my husband's life insurance payout. 25 million."

"I can supply the rest," Tim said with a smile. "As long as the money is returned after all this, Bruce probably won't notice."

Hughes frowned. "I can understand why Sophie, dazzled by Caffrey, would agree to this. But why would you, Mr Wayne?"

"If you're going to shorten it, go with Drake," Tim corrected. "And I'm interested in the plan Caffrey has going. He's a conman working for the FBI, it's an interesting story, don't you think?"

Hughes gave Tim a look like he was crazy and Tim continued to smile. He was a little crazy after all.

Peter and Hughes shared a look. They suspected something more was going on as they didn't take things at face value. Would Tim really gamble with $25 million just to see what would happen? Rich people had been known to have peculiar interests.

"Fine," Hughes said. "Peter, help them put the money in Neal's account."

* * *

Neal was not surprised when Mailer pulled a gun on him. He stood there and told Mailer that he was willing to split the money and even give Mailer the bigger share in return for his life. Mailer gets the money and gets away and Neal takes the fall but gets to live, everyone wins.

"Why do this?" Mailer asked. "Why not just turn me in?"

Neal borrowed Mailer's computer to show him the old wanted poster from the FBI. "Do you really think a guy with a wanted poster is going to go to the law?" It took a couple of moments but Mailer agreed. Neal transferred the money; thanking his lucky stars that Sophie had managed to figure out what he was saying and that Peter had helped put his plan together, and bid Mailer adieu.

"I've got to ask," Neal said, pushing his luck, "how did you manage to deal with Grant Covington?"

"I switched out the regulator valve."

Neal smirked. "Just like that, nothing left behind. If it weren't for that PI and his photos, I wouldn't have to run. You've seen them, right? There are none of you?"

Neal got his phone back from Tony and watched as Mailer got in the car and was driven away. There was no way Mailer had managed to stay out of the PI's photos. A phone call to Peter let the FBI know where to find him.

* * *

Neal looked over the table of people. Mar'i was by his side with Sophie sitting across from her and Mozzie next to her. Tim was sitting behind him, tapping away on his computer and pretending that he wasn't interested in this gathering. Neal held up a glass of wine.

"Mailer was arrested breaking into Slavnik's apartment and the FBI has a number of charges to slam him with. Sophie is okay and the money she and Timothy donated to the cause has been returned. Plus, Peter learnt that he has been freed from the confinement of the evidence lock-up. All in all, I think this was a good case!"

"Hear, hear!" Mar'i said, grinning a Sophie. "I like the cases where I get to make new friends."

"I don't," Mozzie grumbled into his glass.

"You got to use that zoom lens camera of yours and take photos of me and Mar'i," Neal reminded him. "You're good."

"I guess."

Sophie looked over at Tim. "Join us!"

"I'm fine, thank you!" Tim called back.

Sophie pouted a little before looking between Neal and Tim. "So, how does the heir to Wayne Industries end up tangled with a conman?"

"Reformed conman," Neal pointed out.

Mozzie snorted into his glass. "Hah!"

"Yeah, not very reformed," Mar'i commented, sipping her water.

"What was that?" Neal said to her. "I'm reformed. I won't break the law for fun or monetary gain again."

Mozzie groaned while Mar'i giggled. He glared at her and she smiled innocently back.

"Did you catch the huge loophole there?" Tim asked the room, looking at Neal.

Neal smirked back. He was mostly legit as Neal Caffrey now. Being a non-violent ex-conman had taught him much and it was getting interesting working with the FBI. He was determined to see Neal through until the end.

* * *

Mar'i helped Sophie home, Mozzie driving them in his taxi. For the usual fee of course. Neal settled in with a sketchbook in hand and was enjoying a quiet evening by himself.

Even if he wasn't completely alone. Tim had his nose buried in his laptop screen so he didn't count. In fact, Neal had fun sketching him a couple of times. If, in one of the pictures, there was a sword buried in Tim's shoulder well, it wasn't like his adopted brother would see it.

This was probably why Neal noticed immediately when Tim stiffened. He was barely breathing and that made Neal curious. A video was playing on the screen so Neal closed his sketchbook and walked over to it. The moments leading up to looking at the video seemed to take forever.

Maybe it's because his brain couldn't process what he was seeing. He knows he was staring at the looping clip for a while before it finally registered.

A elderly man in a suit was placing purchases into the boot of a car. The car was a fancy model, although it looked practical for the job of picking up a few groceries.

"Why didn't he just have the food delivered like always?" Tim muttered to himself, running his hands over his face.

Maybe he was trying not to cry. Neal certainly felt like crying and like he had no tears at the same time.

The man loaded the bags. Then another man walked out from behind a nearby structural pole and fired a gun. The elderly man wasn't as quick as he used to be, getting a bullet to the body.

One, two, three shots before the shooter walks away as if nothing happened. The elderly man is on the ground, bleeding out and then the clip starts again.

"What happens after that?" Neal demanded. There had to be something more! "Is he okay?" He had to be.

A voice in the back of his head reminded him that,  _no, he didn't have to be._

"I don't know. Barbara sent me the footage to see what I can find," Tim said. "This was earlier today. They're calling it a random act of violence."

"No," Neal said, shaking Tim's chair a little in frustration. "There's no way this is just some random act! He wouldn't have been done in by that!" Neal hated guns so much! "There must be something more! Surely Gordon said something else when she sent you the clip!"

"Damian, calm down," Tim muttered. "She only sent instructions for me to find out whatever I can from this clip and send that back. But we should call Bruce."

Father. He hadn't been told about Damian's other aliases. Or Stanford. Damian hadn't wanted to tell him. He hadn't wanted the big sign of 'Wayne heir' to be over his head.

But this was Alfred. This was Alfred, somehow gunned down in a shopping centre parking lot.

"I'll call him," he said. "When I find out where Alfred is, you're booking three plane tickets there on whatever airline's fastest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: The episode of White Collar which covers Sophie's case (Point Blank) ends with someone Neal cares about dying from a gunshot wound. As you can see, something similar has happened here. I knew when I bright Sophie in that I wanted to keep that end of the episode drama.


	20. Chapter 20

 

Mar'i returned to Neal's apartment to find chaos. Tim had packed his bags and was tapping away on his phone. Neal was pacing back and forth, deep in thought. Both were tense.

"Did you two have a fight?" she asked, knowing about some of the epic battles they had when they were younger.

"Alfred's been shot. He's in hospital."

Mar'i's heart skipped a couple of beats. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"He's only a couple of blocks away so we're going to visit," Tim said. "And I'll be staying in a hotel nearby."

"As you can expect, Father has dropped off the map and is probably attempting to hunt down the criminals as Batman."

"Isn't he a little old for that?" Mar'i said, thinking that there were other people who could do the Batman part; like her father.

"He likes taking things into his own hands. And this is Alfred. Bruce is going to work himself into the ground trying to figure out the who and why."

"Mar'i, you might be able to calm him down," Neal mused.

Mar'i shook her head. "That's more my father's area-"

"Dick already got in a fight with Bruce over this. Since Bruce left Alfred's side to hunt for clues."

"Dad's here too?"

They both nodded.

The rush to the hospital was simple enough. There was already a taxi downstairs, it's driver chatting happily with June. Mozzie looked startled as they came rushing down, bags in hands, flustered and ready to be teleported to the hospital already.

"Mar'i, you can fly ahead," Damian said as he slipped into the back of the taxi. Tim was up the front since his card was paying for this lift. Mar'i dropped into the seat next to him and placed her hand over his.

"I'll go with you." Damian needed her more.

"What's going on?" Mozzie asked as he pulled out onto the street. "Did the Suit get shot or something?"

"Not Peter," Damian said. He looked at Tim and Mar'i, trying to decide if telling Mozzie would hurt them.

"Alfred," Neal said. "You met him once, I believe you were both impressed and terrified of him once he reminded you that you needed to water the plants at Wednesday."  
"Ah yes. I burned quite a few secret bases after that meeting," Mozzie said. He did accelerate and start driving with more purpose once he recalled Alfred. "You said something about him being a big part of your childhood."

"Alfred was a constant where my father was not," Neal responded. "And someone not only managed to sneak up on him but shoot him with bullets."

"Ah. I'll welcome him to the club then. Does he like straws?"

Neal didn't dignify that with an answer. Tim shot him a confused look but followed Neal's lead.

* * *

Mozzie pulled up outside the hospital to let them out.

"Thanks, Moz," Neal said, letting Tim leave them in the dust as driving them here can't have been easy. They were bundles of nerves and Neal knew that kind of thing set Mozzie on edge.

"What are you going to tell the Suit?" Mozzie asked.

"Nothing."

He couldn't tell if Mozzie approved or not as he drove off. Mar'i had waited for him and they made their way up to the room where Alfred was being kept. They weren't allowed in but they could see him through the window.

Tim cursed before dropping down into a plastic chair. He tapped his foot impatiently.

"It's late, they won't let us stay much longer," Mar'i noted. She looked around. "And it seems we're the only ones here."

"That's because you didn't have to go get coffee, Little Star," Jason grumbled gruffly from behind her.

Mar'i straightened her back. "I'm not that little, Uncle Jay."

The corner of Jason's mouth went up and he passed her one of the two coffees he was holding. "I suppose you two heard?"

"Oracle sent me the security footage," Tim said. He knew that Jason had given the coffee for him to Mar'i. "Damian and Mar'i just happened to be there."

"Happened to be there? You were crashing at my place," Damian pointed out.

Jason gave a low whistle. "And you two haven't tried to kill each other yet?"

They shared a look and responded 'no' in unison. Just to annoy Jason.

"How is he?" Damian demanded to know. "And where's Richard?"

Jason explained all the stuff the doctors had told them and how close Alfred had come to death. There were clenched hands and sore jaws as Jason said that doctors came close to just letting Alfred die, because of his age, before Bruce Wayne stepped in with his 'whatever it costs, just save his life'.

It bothered them a lot, even though they understood the doctors' possible reasoning. This was Alfred. He deserved nothing more than the best of care. Once Jason arrived, Dick left to get rooms organised for an extended stay. Neither of them had expected the 'kids' to find out so quickly.

* * *

Neal's apartment was the closest to the hospital. Therefore, it somehow ended up being the spot where everyone crashed after catching up and making plans. Neal still had to work, part of his deal with the FBI meant that he couldn't really take leave just because someone he knew was in the hospital. He got dressed, kicked Tim's unconscious body where it had slipped onto the ground. He glared at Jason, who had woken up and was watching him get ready with a smirk on his face.

"Nice suit," Jason said as Neal did up his vest and grabbed his hat.

"Of course. Only the best for Neal Caffrey."

"Where are you going?"

"Have you even heard of me?"

"Nope."

Neal stared at Jason. "Well, that's not my problem. I have work."

"Can you two take this outside?" Mar'i grumbled from the bed, rolling over into the space Neal had vacated and spreading out lazily. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"We can change the topic instead, Princess," Jason said, smirking at Neal. "So, how long have you and she been a thing? And what would her daddy think?" Thank goodness Dick had decided to stay at his own place, close to his weapon and uniform cache.

Neal rolled his eyes and exited the apartment, slamming the door and almost barrelling right not Peter.

"Hi Neal. Is there a reason you're in a big rush this morning?"

This was not his morning. Neal's smile felt fake as he answered.

"I was reminded that Mar'i's father might not approve of our relationship and needed to get some air," he responded.

"Since when do you worry about that? Surely the Caffrey charm will work on him?"

Neal shook his head, continuing downstairs. He made sure not to look back so that Peter would focus on catching up to him and not wondering what it was behind the door which gave Neal such thoughts.

"No. It won't. He's used to it." Grayson charm trumped any kind of charm Damian could employ. Bryce, Neal, any of their aliases all paled in comparison to the earnest Grayson charm which enraptured most of the superhero community.

On the way to the office, Neal sent a text to Tim. He wanted to be kept informed of Alfred's condition.

* * *

Neal's phone went off. Thinking it was Tim, Neal quickly checked the message. Even though it was an unknown number, he knew it was Jason.

'You got caught by the FBI? Hahahaha!'

And his phone kept going off all morning. It seemed Jason managed to find every little embarrassment in Neal Caffrey's career and didn't care about any of the successes. He had forged the unforgeable! Stolen the highly valued and protected! Found lost artefacts!  
How did Jason even find out about the incident on the princess' balcony?


	21. Chapter 21

 

The end of the day felt like the end of twenty days. Neal was all ready to leave the office and not look back. Even though he usually found the day-to-day tasks dull and hardly exciting enough for a person of his skill set, today it was just what he needed. Mindless distraction. Or as mindless as it could be with Jason texting him every couple of minutes. He muted his phone partway through the day and just checked it whenever he had a spare moment.

"Neal," Peter said before he could grab everything and leave. "Do you have a moment?"

Saying 'no' would be suspicious. But agreeing meant having to talk to Peter with a forced smile while almost dead on his feet.

"Sure." What happened to being able to talk his way out of anything? Neal cursed his golden tongue which decided to stop working as he made his way up to Peter's office.

"Why were you at the hospital last night? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine Peter." Physically, at least. "Someone I know ended up in the hospital last night and we all went to wish him well."

Peter didn't seem surprised to hear that. He had probably guessed already.

"And why was your phone going off all the time? Is this person okay? It's not Mozzie, is it?"

"It's not Mozzie," Neal said. "Do you really think Mozzie would go to hospital unless he was unconscious?"

Peter gave a long suffering sigh. Neal was surprised. It seemed Mozzie had grown on the agent as Peter cared about whether Mozzie was looking after himself.

* * *

The door burst open.

"I know who's in hospital!" Chuck, who had caught the end of the conversation, cried out. He had been waiting nervously outside, looking for a moment to knock while trying not to interrupt their conversation. Peter had been trying to let Neal know that it was okay to rely on him and Chuck didn't want to interfere. After all, Bryce needed to know that he had people ready to help him.

"Really, Chuck?" Neal questioned flatly. His friend was still a geek, timing his entries for effect.

Chuck nodded. "Beckman's very interested in what happened last night. She's been keeping an eye on things related to your SOE friend."

"Ex-SOE. Alfred hasn't been in the game for decades."

"Alfred, huh?" Peter mused. Neal's heart skipped a beat before he remembered that there was little that Peter could do without a last name.

"Yes!" Chuck said. "He's a really interesting guy! I'd love to know what makes a man give up acting and spy work to go live in Gotham."

"Gotham?"

Neal always found people's reactions to his father's city amusing. They acted like it was a shocking thing to hear. Sure, it had some of the highest crime rates of the country at one time, but it was slowly lowering. Someday, it might even lower than average.

"Isn't that the city where Batman works?" Peter said.

"Batman?" That was not a name Neal expected Peter to say.

"Yes!" Chuck said excitedly. "Do you think the stories are real? I mean, we know that Batman's somehow able to stand with the Justice League but that he manages crime in Gotham himself is superhuman!"

"If he hangs out with the Justice League, chances are that he's superhuman."

"He's not the only costumed vigilante that Gotham has though," Neal pointed out. He felt it was important that they knew that.

"Right, isn't there a whole group of them? People have no clue who's on what side in that city. We had Red Hood on a number of watch lists but apparently the Gotham police consider him part of Batman's brood? I don't know how anyone handles it."

"There's rumours of a Batwoman and I want to see her! I mean, I know there's confirmed sightings of a Batgirl and people think that they're one and the same but I want to see her for myself!"

"You want to go to Gotham?" The disbelief was heavy in Neal's voice.

Chuck winced. "A little. But Sarah's not too fussed on the idea and my sister might kill me if I went somewhere as dangerous as that."

"Makes sense. They say taxis from outside of Gotham won't take you across the bridge which leads into Gotham city, no matter how much you pay them. You have to cross yourself or get a Gotham taxi. That's just the kind of place Gotham is."

Chuck nodded and Neal could feel Peter's stare. It wasn't like staring would tell Peter the connection between himself and Alfred.

"Didn't Alfred raise you?" Peter said.

"No way. I thought you grew up in Connecticut!"

Neal winced. "People act weird when you say you're from Gotham. Plus, I didn't really enter Stanford under my name. Alfred helped me make up an alias, Bryce Larkin, since I was trying to distance myself from my past." Besides, Damian Wayne had almost as many enemies as Robin did.

Chuck's mouth dropped open. "So what even is your name?"

Neal grinned. This, he could answer. "Bryce Larkin, Neal Caffrey, George Devore, James Maine, and so on. Some I am more attached to more than others but they're all me." Or parts of himself.

"'What's in a name', huh?" Peter muttered.

Chuck shook his head with a fond smile. "Maybe you'll find one you become completely attached to. Like Sarah."

"She settled for 'Sarah Bartowski', didn't she?" Neal teased.

"She didn't settle," Chuck muttered.

Neal laughed. He knew that! Sarah would never settle, not in love.

"What about Mar'i?" Peter asked. "Which one is she going to marry?" That question pierced right to the heart of why Neal was hesitating with popping the question.

It had been his plan to propose as Neal Caffrey when it looked like he would be Neal Caffrey for the foreseeable future but he had to admit that his future was a little more clouded now that he was involved with the FBI.

"You're going to ask Mar'i to marry you? Congratulations!"

Neal nervously smiled at Chuck. He knew his friend was just happy for him. "I don't know when I'm going to get a chance. Everyone's focused on what happened to Alfred."

"We're here for that," Peter said. "Don't try to do anything on your own."

"And we'll totally help with your proposal! Do you have a ring?"

Neal laughed and told Chuck the story of the ring he gave up as ransom to save Peter. Peter acted embarrassed, pointing out that Neal didn't have to pay the ransom. Although he was glad his friend did.

* * *

Neal felt better when he was around Peter and Chuck. For a while, he had someone to distract him from Alfred being in the hospital. The moment he crossed the threshold into June's home, the worry and sick feeling in his gut returned.

Maybe he would put a costume on and go beat up some criminals to help? He had to toss that plan when he opened his apartment door and found Dick Grayson sitting at the table. He had a manilla folder sitting in front of him.

Mar'i was sitting at the end of the table. She was pouting and glaring at the folder.

"I found out what brought Alfred to New York."

"What?" Neal questioned taking a seat. Not even a hello? He opened the file. It contained information on the commutation of Neal Caffrey's sentence. "What?" he repeated in a high screech

"Bruce found out about Neal Caffrey. Alfred was here to extract you but got hit in transit."

"Which means what?" Damian asked.

"Neal Caffrey's leaving and Damian Wayne is going to arrive at his father's New York apartment tonight."


	22. Chapter 22

 

Damian tossed his bag onto the comically large bed. Even though this hotel room was in his father's name, Bruce wasn't here. Instead, he was off in the Justice League headquarters for a meeting. Probably to recruit Superman into covering his duties while they deal with Alfred's shooting.

Mar'i practically slammed her bag onto the floor. "I tried to talk to Dad about this. Sorry I failed."

Damian didn't think she failed. Dick could be a difficult person to argue with and June said that the maids had heard yelling from the apartment. It also explained his clipped tone when Damian had come home.

It didn't excuse him disappearing once they reached the apartment.

"I'm sure he's gone to see Alfred and isn't letting us come," Mar'i huffed.

Damian agreed. He pulled out his laptop and logged in. If they thought that he was just going to sit here, they were wrong.

Everyone in Batman's inner circle had access to the video of Alfred being shot. Although, Damian didn't think he could find anything that the family hadn't, he still wanted to see what he could find. Mar'i curled up next to him on the couch and watched over his shoulder, providing commentary both funny and thoughtful as he watched the short clip.

After the seventh time watching it, she sighed and reached out. Damian let her close the window even though he scowled at her for doing it.

"What are you going to do about Neal Caffrey?" she asked. "According to the government, he doesn't exist anymore."

"Honestly? I'm tempted to just walk back into work tomorrow like nothing's happened." Damian smiled his Neal smile and Mar'i's hair frizzed in the air as she laughed and shook her head. He was serious and she knew that he would do it.

"Great plan. Except for what Bruce'll do when he finds out. And Dad said something about getting you to work the company."

Damian didn't really want to pick up the slack for anyone in his family. The second in command at Wayne Industries, Lucius Fox, wouldn't have to work so hard if he helped, however, Damian had been pulled from the job he enjoyed to work the job that no one in his family wanted right now.

"Feels like they just want me when they need me," he grumbled.

"Not much different from the FBI and CIA then. Don't show me that expression."

"It's different. There's Chuck and Peter and Diana and Jones and Mozzie; Mozzie's going to be so mad when he finally tracks us down-"

"If he tracks us down," Mar'i corrected, lighting pressing a finger to his lips. She curled in closer to him. "Tell you what, I'll keep an eye on the agents and you can attempt to catch up on work. If you manage it, we might be able to pass a message about our location before our fathers realise."

Damian agreed. With one condition. "No wine bottle treasure maps."

Mar'i groaned. But she loved the classics!

"And no coded letters to either agent." After a pause, he mused, "maybe no contact at all."

Mar'i rolled her eyes. This was tomorrow's problem. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

Peter's phone went off at the breakfast table.

"Oh thank goodness you're up! I didn't know how soon to call and whether I should, I mean, who wants their phone waking them up at five in the morning or something but-"

"Chuck. What's wrong?"

"It's Neal! Not just Neal, Bryce too! And Mr Anderson, James Maine, I don't know any of Neal's other aliases so I can't check but all of Bryce's are gone so I assume Neal's too-"

"Chuck! Take a breath before you speak." Although Peter hadn't liked what he had heard so far. Why couldn't his laptop load faster? El had watched him grab it out of his bag and load it up, breakfast forgotten.

Chuck was right. Peter logged into the FBI database and found no record of Neal Caffrey anywhere or any of the aliases they had positively connected to the ex-conman. He tried to get a location on the tracker but it didn't exist.

"Meet me at the FBI office."

* * *

Chuck was already there and pacing when Peter stormed through the doors. A couple of early agents jumped a little as the two made their way up into Peter's office.

Time ticked by and Neal didn't arrive. Peter called June, who confirmed that Neal was not in his apartment and that his apartment was spotless. There was no sign that anyone was living there.

Even Mar'i was gone.

Peter's phone clattered as it hit the desk and Peter put his head in his hands.

"I bet this has something to do with Kate."

Chuck had to ask who Kate was, he had forgotten that Mar'i used that name when she first met the FBI.

"I don't think Mar'i would do this. There's another option."

"What's that?"

When Neal had let slip about Alfred being in the hospital, Chuck had double checked. Alfred Pennyworth had been checked into hospital with a gunshot wound.

Chuck pulled out a file. "I looked into Alfred. He works for Bruce Wayne. As a butler."

' _Like a butler_ ', had been Neal's words when describing how the man had cared for his family. "Maybe not like a butler-"

"-But actually the butler. Yeah, that's what I thought." Chuck was grinning. "And he's okay to receive visitors."

* * *

The door to the hospital room opened and Mar'i looked up from her book.

"Kate."

She closed her book, making sure to keep the marker on the page. "Peter. You know Kate didn't really exist, right?"

"Like Neal Caffrey?" Peter countered. "Doesn't change the fact that he's my friend."

Their battle of words was interrupted by a chuckle.

"Agents Burke and Carmichael. I apologise for my state, however it cannot be helped."

"Are you Alfred Pennyworth?" Chuck asked.

The man nodded. He was old, hair thin and wispy grey and skin splotched with a light leathery appearance. Chuck was instantly and surprisingly reminded of the file he had compiled and how it said that this man was still working for Bruce Wayne.

"We're looking for Neal."

"Neal Caffrey doesn't exist anymore, Agent Burke," Mar'i said in a cold tone.

"Mar'i. What your father say about your current behaviour?" Alfred scolded.

"It's the CIA and FBI, Great-Grandpa. He'll probably give me a lollipop and a pat on the head."

"And?"

"...And tell me not to do it again."

"So do not do it in the first place." Alfred motioned for the agents to take a seat. "I apologise for the confusion but, Mar'i is correct. Neal Caffrey doesn't exist anymore. Neither does Bryce Larkin or any alias which had been traced to the two."

"We noticed."

"What about Damian Wayne?" Chuck said, taking a stab in the dark.

"Damian Wayne is currently coming through the accounts for Wayne Industries at his father's request. Do you have some business with him?"

Peter was impressed. Alfred had some skill in his area. He suddenly recalled that Chuck had first learnt about Alfred as an ex-spy.

"He's a good starting point," Chuck explained. "After all, he's around the same age as Neal and Bryce, hasn't been in the public eye for years and has a connection to you similar to the one Neal described."

"And what will you do when you find him?" Alfred asked.

"If our suspicions are confirmed, I'll be offering him a job," Chuck said bluntly.

Peter's head snapped to Chuck. "He might want to come back to White Collar."

"Come on, he ditched you guys. Besides, I have technology to tempt him with."

"It can't compare to top tier Wayne Tech," Mar'i said to Chuck. "You might want to find a different bribe." Recognising the look on Chuck's face, she added, "working at the Buy More is not a bribe. It's a challenge for increasing one's skills, not a benefit."

"I would consider the increase in skills a benefit," Chuck muttered mostly to himself.

"And arresting him?" Alfred questioned.

"For what? There's nothing we can charge him with." Peter was not happy about the security breach which made that possible though.

Alfred raise an eyebrow at Mar'i, who sighed.

"Fine. Okay, I admit it, I was wrong. They didn't come in, guns blazing and ready to arrest Damian and everyone associated with him."


	23. Chapter 23

 

"No, that won't work."

"That's it then! You can't beat a Wayne Security System!"

"You can. I've done it."

"But you won't tell me how."

"If you can guess, I'll tell you. But you haven't guessed yet." Mar'i could just imagine the smug smile on Damian's face.

Peter sighed and Chuck mused on it. Chuck was probably trying to figure out a way to beat a Wayne Security System. From what she knew about him, he would probably manage it too.

"What's Mozzie doing here?" Peter asked as they entered the apartment.

Damian was sitting at the dining table with Mozzie next to him.

"Suit!" Mozzie exclaimed.

"Mozzie?" Mar'i questioned. Her eyes glowed as she glared at Damian.

"I didn't tell him," Damian said with a shrug. "He turned up at the door."

"Of course I tracked you down. You didn't even leave New York. I'm a failure of a teacher."

"Good," Peter stated.

Damian smiled at that one. "Come in guys and take a seat. Food's in the kitchen, feel free to eat it all. Father's paying for it anyway." It was a petty way of getting back at Bruce and Mar'i wondered if Damian was going to fight the mess Bruce had made of his life.

"Your father is Bruce Wayne. That's... interesting."

"Your father is Orion, secret gadget maker who is ex-CIA."

"And my father works in construction," Peter huffed, sitting down. "Let's put aside the father issues and talk about what you're going to do next, Neal."

"How about a proper introduction?" Mozzie suggested.

"How about not?" Damian countered.

"Mozzie just wants to know about my alien origins, Damian," Mar'i teased, hair flaring up with a 'fwoosh'.

Chuck pointed out that he had already known about her alien-earthling hybrid origins. Mar'i had spoke about her parents before while working at the Buy More.

"Let's talk about why a spy is working at the Buy More," Mozzie said.

"Let's not," Damian repeated with a sigh.

"Well, it is partially your fault," Chuck reminded him. "You got me kicked out of Stanford so I had to take whatever work I could."

"Can we not talk about that?" They'd be there all night if Chuck got started.

Chuck waved him off. He mentioned it because he realised how much that job protected him. He had the CIA and enemy agencies looking to recruit him and leaving Stanford wasn't quite enough to keep some of them off his back.

"Nothing like working a minimum wage job to get people to ignore you," Damian pointed out. The words had an air of experience about them, which caught curiosity from everyone in the room. However, they suspected it was a distraction tactic.

"Okay," Peter said, "we'll not talk about it. Let's instead get a proper introduction from you."

"I'm Damian Wayne," Damian said. Peter's eyes widened as he had not been expecting Damian to answer his question. "My father is, as Chuck guessed, Bruce Wayne."

"You're worth millions." Peter's eyes narrowed. "Why steal then?"

"Lots of reasons. CIA missions, missions for myself, it's fun and a challenge, poor role models growing up-"

"It's mostly the CIA thing," Mar'i said. "And a little bit of the challenge. Stealing isn't always about the money."

"Then that means you should easily give it up," Peter pointed out.

There was silence for a couple of moments before Damian shrugged. Then he turned his computer so they could see the screen.

"This is a video of when Alfred was shot. I want to track down his attempted murderer. You're free to join me, if you want."

"What are you doing to do with him when you find him?" Peter asked.

"Prison. He'll sign a confession."

Damian sounded certain. Peter and Chuck shared a look. How was Damian going to get the guy to sign a confession?

"First you have to find him," Mar'i reminded Damian. "And you have to beat your brothers too it as well, since you're not working with them."

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"They're annoying," Damian responded. "And none of us play nicely in a team."

"You were fine with us," Peter pointed out.

"And me," Mozzie added.

Chuck could only shrug. Bryce had been okay. His presence caused problems but it never cost them the mission.

* * *

Chuck, Peter and Mozzie introduced themselves to the mission. Peter's argument about working within the law lasted until Chuck countered with CIA affiliation and hiring his security firm.

"Even though you're hiring us, I'll try to keep Sarah and Casey out of it."

"I'd appreciate that," Damian responded. He pushed his computer in Chuck's direction. "Almost everything we know about the shooting is up on that computer right now. And in here." He passed the file over to Peter.

Peter wondered how Damian had gotten his hands on the police report.

"They're investigating but we don't hold any faith in them actually solving the case," Damian informed them. "I'm hoping that we can pool resources. Maybe it'll give me an edge over my brothers."

"This isn't a competition, Nea-Damian."

"It's not. But it's my fault that Alfred was in New York to begin with, not my brothers'. They shouldn't have to clean up my messes. Plus, I'm a little worried about what some of them might do should they find the culprit before we do."

Peter couldn't remember who the other kids of Bruce Wayne were or why Damian would be worried about what they would do if they found the culprit. However, he was certain that El would know.

"If there's a video, why haven't the police found the guy?" Chuck asked.

"Probably because we can't tell who it is," Damian pointed out, loading the video. Chuck watched the video, tensing and twitching as the gun fired.

"You okay?" Peter asked.

Damian had forgotten about the Intersect Chuck carried. He had never thought that it would be able to identify the shooter. Unless it reacted to Alfred again?

"Excuse us a moment," he said, grabbing Chuck's arm.

Chuck didn't move. Damian used a little more strength and was surprised that Chuck barely budged.

"Chuck?" He waved a hand in front of Chuck's face. Chuck grabbed it.

"Don't worry about keeping it a secret," Chuck said. "I assume Mozzie knows already."

"How do you know that?" Mozzie questioned, inching closer.

"How do  _you_  know?" Damian demanded. After all, Mozzie was a criminal. A friendly criminal who kind of reminded Damian of a nicer Catwoman, but still a criminal.

"Let's just say that you're not the first CIA agent I've assisted," Mozzie said flippantly.

"Orion," Chuck said by way of explanation.

"Helping people escape from the man is my forte."

"That's not exactly something to brag about."

"You're the only one in this room who thinks so," Mar'i said to Peter. She thought it was a useful skill. Peter glared at her momentarily before listening to Chuck give them the short version of his circumstances.

"I have a computer in my head. My father developed it with funding from the government and it contains information from a number of government agencies. And it's able to identify the shooter because I once spent days analysing everything about this person."

"Seriously? Why?" Damian asked while Mozzie whispered to Peter that he would explain about the computer-in-head thing later. Damian suspected Peter didn't want to know.

"That's Daniel Shaw," Chuck said. He then gave a cliff notes version of his history with Shaw, including Shaw's attempts to kill Sarah and Chuck's failed attempt to kill him and then Chuck's final arrest. "I have no clue how he managed to get out."

"That might have to be our first port of call then," Damian said.

Peter wanted to make sure Damian wasn't getting in over his head, but he didn't know if he could drop everything to hunt down what sounded like a very dangerous man.

"Shaw likes to go after people connected to his target," Chuck said seriously. "If Neal is his target, then no one who knew Neal is safe."

"El," Peter said, uncertain whether it was a worried statement or a question.

"I'll protect her," Mar'i said without hesitation. She gathered her things and slung a bag over her shoulder.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I really should have done this when they first started posting but Willofhounds is doing a White Collar/Batman/Jason Bourne series crossover. The first story in the collection is finished and the second story has just started.  
> Check it out if you haven't already:  
> <https://archiveofourown.org/series/1003542>

Damian had a smug smile on his face after Mar'i texted to say she had reached the Burke residence and El was fine. She had even been allowed to take the guest room for the foreseeable future.

"See? Kate's not that bad."

"That's not Kate. That's Mar'i," Peter said. "There's a difference." And he was curious about the difference between Neal and Damian.

Damian clicked his tongue, making a -tt- noise. He didn't want Peter to know about Damian as Damian wasn't someone he was proud of. He knew he could be a brat and a pain and he didn't say the nicest things about people because he wasn't trying to manipulate them or keep them open for manipulation later…

"Oh great. Neal's basically my father and grandfather rolled together and taking away the killing and violence."

"What killing?" Peter questioned.

Damian took a deep breath. "My grandfather is a terrible person. Think Keller but as a cult leader with ambition."

Peter really didn't want to imagine that. Chuck had to be quickly updated on what Keller was like, which led to Damian wondering if Ra's Al Ghul was in the Intersect since Keller didn't seem to be.

* * *

It was strange being in someone's house when you didn't know them very well. Mar'i was filled with a restless energy and no idea what she could do with it. Her hair was flaming as she walked around, looking at all the stuff in the rooms.

Damian's smiling face caught her attention. She picked up the picture in the frame. Maybe Peter wasn't bad for him? He seemed impressed with Neal's abilities, even thought he had to catch him as part of his job. Although his dedication to his job reminded them of their fathers.

A minus for Mar'i but something Damian found endearing.

"If you like, I could give you a copy of that photo," El said. She was standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

Mar'i didn't have many pictures of Damian smiling and she didn't see him in a suit often enough that she enjoyed the sight. "Sure."

"I have other photos too. From the times Neal's stayed here."

"His real name is Damian," Mar'i said. "He told Peter today."

El smiled, glad for that. She hoped it would bring them closer and keep Neal from doing things which kept her husband up at night.

"That probably won't happen," Mar'i commented. Her family all loved the kinds of activities which kept law personnel up at night unless they learnt to adapt.

"And why not?"

Mar'i thought about her answer because she couldn't just tell El about their nighttime escapades.

"He's still a spy. They do things which are outside the law sometimes. You know, commissioned by the country but if they get caught, no one's going to back them up."

"Risk of the profession then." A thought occurred to El. "They're not going to pull Peter into some spy stuff, are they?"

There was no right answer that Mar'i could give. Lies would be discovered eventually and El didn't deserve to be lied to.

* * *

Peter looked up at the tall building. It looked like any other sleek office building. The windows were darkened so that they couldn't be seen through and there were people walking around in suits. However, the trees planted in the area around it gave off the feeling of not being in New York anymore, even though they were still in New York.

"I don't like this," Damian complained as they walked the distance from the car to the building entrance.

"Don't like what?" Chuck asked.

"The facility holding Daniel Shaw just happened to be in New York? I don't like that coincidence."

"It could just be a coincidence," Peter pointed out. His gut wasn't sending off any warning bells about it.

"I think the CIA might also have been trying to keep him away from California and myself."

It wasn't hard to guess why Shaw was kept away from Chuck and Sarah. After all, he had tried to kill them more than once. Damian wondered if Chuck would be allowed to visit Shaw, if he was still here.

They signed in at the desk.

"Just let me check your clearance level, Agent Burke," the person at the desk said.

Damian sighed. Chuck had been right in contacting Beckman so that this could be listed as a joint FBI-CIA operation, even though they were only in the investigative phase. Shaw could still be here and then the operation wouldn't even make it off the ground. Damian didn't know what he was hoping for.

"Alright, you're all good to go," the receptionist said, passing them the location where Shaw was being kept in the building.

"Wait. Peter has clearance?"

"I might not be CIA, but I've worked a high profile case here and there," Peter responded smugly. "I am considered one of the best in my field. It nets a higher clearance level than most."

"I'm sure Hughes had nothing to do with it," Damian commented back.

"Does it matter? Let's find this Shaw person and be done with it." Peter's gut was giving him a feeling that this was not going to be as easy as he made it sound.

Shaw's cell was in the depths of the facility. It was underground and the white walls of the hallway caused the dim lights to appear much brighter than they were. Peter's nerves were bouncing all over the place and he didn't like this. This wasn't where his criminals ended up and it said something about the kinds of crimes Shaw was guilty of that he was being kept somewhere like this.

Chuck wasn't going to tell Peter that he almost ended up somewhere like this, although probably slightly more comfortable, just because he held secrets the CIA didn't want getting out.

Damian walked towards the cell and only gave clipped answers to any questions. He didn't comment as he stopped outside the door.

"Well, he appears on camera," Damian commented. Chuck tensed at the sight of his true worst nemesis on the screen.

"Do we open the door?" Peter questioned, hand going to his gun. He had been surprised that no one had asked him to turn it over.

"That's why we're here." Damian tapped in a code and scanned his eye. The door slid open soundlessly to reveal and empty room. "Of course."

Chuck cursed.

Peter pulled his gun out and took a couple of steps inside, scouting the place. He backed up and looked at the screen.

"He's hacked it."

"Yep," Damian said. "It's a loop probably taken from one of the days he was actually in here. And we have no clue how long he's been gone."

"How did no one notice?" Chuck questioned. "What about mealtimes?"

"Let's find out."

Worryingly enough, a quick checked showed that food wasn't being delivered, even though it was being marked off as if it had been.

"Do you think someone helped him break out?" Chuck questioned because someone had to be altering the records.

"I can think of a couple of ways to automate this," Damian said.

"Is that experience talking?" Peter asked.

"I've never had to break out of one of these places." Damian rubbed his chin. "Only a Supermax. And Shaw's just showing me up now, isn't he?"

"Please don't turn this into a competition."

"We're going to recapture Shaw," Chuck declared.

Peter was impressed. Chuck was a pretty good guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, Peter was drawn into the spy stuff ;P


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Sorry about the delay. The last week and a bit has been very stressful for anyone living in my area. I don't feel comfortable posting the cause since it actually can be used to find my location. But the important thing is that my family and I are okay.

 

The cell had been devoid of everything bar a bed. It looked pretty nice, except for the see-through door which robbed anyone inside of privacy and kept the place locked up tight.

"How did he get out of here?" Peter questioned, looking down the long hall. Even if Shaw had just walked out, he still had to get past the people at the front.

"I wonder if I can figure out who wrote the looping code which tricked the cameras," Chuck wondered.

"Go find out," Damian said. "Any lead is a good lead right now." He started taking pictures of the room to show Mozzie. At the very least, figuring out how to break out of this room would provide them with some distraction.

"How would you escape?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea right now. I don't think it's possible to have done this without some outside help and that worries me."

Peter was surprised that he would express worry. "It's not your fault that Shaw shot Alfred."

"Alfred was only here because of me. Because Father found out about my being here as Neal Caffrey and thought I should leave."

"Do you want to leave?"

Damian didn't know. Which is why he was just going with the flow. "At the very least, it's wasn't his choice to make."

Peter nodded and didn't press the issue. "It's still not your fault. The blame falls squarely on Shaw's shoulders."

* * *

Mar'i was feeling a little restricted. She couldn't leave Elizabeth Burke alone, no matter how much she wanted to go out and fight criminals. If something happened to the nice lady, it would be her fault. But staying here was making her twitchy.

"Do you have any dietary requirements?"

Mar'i didn't. Her blend of Earthling and Tamaranean gave her a sturdy constitution, inside and out.

"Are you missing Neal?" El asked.

"No. I know he'll be back. If he's not, then we're going after him."

El raised her eyebrows. "Then, is Peter safe following this investigation of Neal's?"

"It probably carries less risk than an FBI case."

That seemed to relax El a little. She was still worried but was able to hide it as she started making dinner.

"Let's talk about something that's not the boys' case," El said. "How are things going between you and Neal?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were dating, right? Or was that some kind of ruse? I really hope it wasn't, you two dating really upset Peter at times. He didn't think Kate was good enough for Neal."

Mar'i laughed. "He'd be one of the few people thinking that he wasn't good enough for me! I know he's worried our family and friends will think the opposite. For all he acts confident, he really doesn't understand his own worth."

El nodded in agreement. She had seen that enough times around Neal. He was willing to put himself in the firing line to protect others, to the point that she would call it a character flaw. He didn't notice the way Peter worried whenever he came close to being hurt or in danger.

"Are you dating?"

Mar'i sighed. "We are," she muttered. She rubbed her hand over over her mouth in frustration. It beat banging her head against the table. "But I heard something about a ring and I don't know if it was meant for me because he wants to marry me or if it was just something else to add to our cover."

"Neal doesn't seem like the type to marry for a cover."

"But he hasn't asked me again."

"Would you say yes?"

Mar'i paused. Would she? She wanted him to ask her but what was her answer supposed to be? Yes? They weren't even out to their parents. "It's complicated."

"Maybe he's waiting for things to not be so complicated," El suggested, taking a seat next to Mar'i on the couch. "Although, you're in for a wait. Things are never not complicated."

"I'm aware," Mar'i said.

"You could always ask him." Mar'i stared at El in surprise. "If you think he'll say 'yes' and you want him to say 'yes', then you can ask. Unless he's not really into that-"

"I think he'll be fine with it."

"There you go. Even I had to give Peter a little push here and there."

"I doubt you had to push him into engagement."

"No. But there wasn't any formal engagement as you know it. We just... decided one day that we wanted to be married. So we went ring shopping as an engaged couple. There was no 'getting down on one knee'."

That was interesting and she wanted to know more about the Burkes' relationship. However, Mar'i's phone began chiming for a call in the distance. It took a moment of rushing around to remember that she had placed it on her bag, which she had placed next to the door when she came in.

"Is Mozzie with you?" Damian asked the moment she picked up.

"Hello Mar'i, how are you? I'm fine, thanks for asking-"

"I know the structure of phone pleasantries however, I'm really not in the mood. Mozzie's not picking up his phone and I need him to check something."

"Something?"

"Shaw has escaped and we have no clues here. Mozzie might be the only person who can track him down."

"Why Mozzie? Do you really think he'll help capture a CIA agent on the run?"

"He's helped people from the CIA before. Come on Mar'i."

Mar'i sighed. "He's not here. Give me a moment."

Elizabeth giggled as they opened the door and walked across the street.

* * *

Mozzie had the car out of park and into gear the moment the ladies came out of the Burkes' townhouse. He was ready to follow them, wherever they might go.

Mar'i came up to the tinted window of his rental car and tapped. Neal's curiosity must have been rubbing off on him because, instead of tearing out of his car park and booking it down the street, Mozzie wound the window down.

"Hey Moz," Mar'i greeted, alien eyes glowing and a smug smile on her lips.

"What do you want?" Mozzie asked.

Mar'i shoved a phone in his face. "Got a call for you."

Mozzie sighed. Of course. He didn't need to look on the screen to know it was Neal, or Damian, calling for assistance.

"I'm guessing the big, bad CIA agent isn't in his cell?"

"Ex-CIA. Please tell me you didn't help Shaw escape."

"I wouldn't help a man who tried to kill an adopted little girl."

"What?" He could hear Damian's confusion. So Chuck hadn't told the story of Sarah's little sister in full, had he? Mozzie had seen the transmissions between Shaw and the agent in charge of tracking the child down. Mozzie still wasn't sure if the agent's appearance had been a coincidence or not. It was unsettling to realise that Peter had a doppelganger with the CIA.

"Don't worry about it. I assume you want me to find information on Shaw's whereabouts?"

"Please."

"I make no promises." Mozzie passed the phone back to Mar'i.


	26. Chapter 26

 

Damian was not surprised when Mozzie didn't get back to him that day. The sun set and Peter drove them into New York City.

"Where are you staying, Chuck?" Peter asked.

Chuck hesitated to answer. He didn't want to leave Damian alone after discovering that Shaw was out. However, he was worried about Sarah and Casey, who were still in New York. Neither of them had left, even though he had said they were free to go back to Burbank.

"It turns out that my wife has a place in New York, which is where we've been staying," he answered. Not wanting to give the address yet, Chuck turned to Damian. "What about you? Are we taking you back to that hotel room?"

"It was a suite," Peter muttered in annoyance.

"Father is paying for it," Damian said. "And as fun as it would be to leave him with a big bill, if we're going to catch Shaw, I probably should find somewhere else to stay."

"Does Bruce Wayne even know about your spy work?" Chuck asked.

"I hope not. As much as I live to disappoint him, I'd rather he didn't go storming into Beckman's office to demand my 'freedom'." Although, Bruce probably knew since the erasure of Bryce Larkin's details from the system was Batman's work. And his words weren't technically a lie. He hoped his father didn't know, as unlikely as that was and Damian was growing fond of the moments when he could surprise his father. Disappointing him seemed to be the easiest way to achieve it.

"He'd actually storm into Beckman's office? I can't tell if he's scary or stupid."

"Both."

"He's your father, Damian," Peter added to the conversation. "Is he really that bad?"

"No. He's a good person but sometimes not a very good father. Dick says it's because he's afraid to get attached after what happened to Jason." He wasn't going to tell them what happened to Jason. They would look that up themselves.

"You're welcome to stay with me," Peter said. "You can even sign on to be my CI again, if you want."

"It is a great way to frustrate my family," Damian said with a grin. "And Mar'i's still there."

Chuck didn't want to leave them but he wanted to be with Sarah that night. Peter dropped him off and Damian let Chuck extract a promise to pick him up the next morning, regardless of whether there was news from Mozzie or not.

* * *

Mar'i and El seemed to be getting along. Although Damian noticed that Mar'i's hair wasn't flaming the way it would have been if she had truly had a good time. It seemed his girlfriend just wasn't able to relax. Whether that was because of the situation or El herself, Damian would have to wait to find out.

Mar'i had been accepting of Damian's decision to stay here. She knew that Mozzie was uncomfortable in the hotel and suspected he knew about all the cameras there. Just like she and Damian did.

"Think the Burkes will mind if I sneak out for a couple of hours?" Mar'i questioned once they were alone in the guest room.

"Them finding out kind of negates the whole 'sneak' part, doesn't it?"

"Do you think they'd mind?"

"Nope. What are you thinking of doing?"

"Reminding the criminals of New York that Nightstar lives here now."

Damian rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic tone in her voice. She knew from the smile on his face that he wasn't being mean. He reached out and brushed his hand through a couple of fiery strands of hair.

"You really shouldn't go out without back up."

"Hmm, I guess I could call Red Arrow. She'll help me out."

Damian frowned. "She's in Star City."

"What about Impulse or Kid Flash?"

Damian groaned. The West twins could be annoying at times. One was too focused on following in Daddy's footsteps and becoming the Flash while the other was too focused on having a 'normal' life but did superheroing on the side anyway.

"Superboy?"

"Jon still hasn't changed his name?" Damian questioned. Surely he was a 'Superman' by now.

"His Dad is still Superman so Jon's stuck as one of the Superboys."

"Sounds like a terrible rockband."

"I'm sure Jon and Connor agree," Mar'i responded. "It's a good thing I found someone else." There was a knock at the window and Mar'i opened it to let Starfire in.

Orange hair lit the room in an unearthy, fiery glow. Starfire hovered before the window frame, looking pleased.

"Ready to head out?" she asked her daughter.

"Kori," Damian greeted her. Starfire was one of the few heroes who had his respect. It wasn't because she had dated Dick Grayson but because she hadn't put up with is attitude when he was younger and had also treated him with kindness. "I thought you had left. There hasn't been a sighting of Starfire in ages."

"I've been here and there," Kori responded, her voice soft like silk. "I still help with the training of the younger heroes from time to time as well."

Damian wished mother and daughter luck and watched them fly until buildings hid their figures in the sky. He wanted to go too but he wanted to be here in case Mozzie found something.

* * *

Mozzie sent a text at 4am from an unlisted number. Damian was out of bed quickly and made his way to the back door, where Mozzie had indicated he would be.

"I appreciate that you didn't use any codes."

Mozzie clicked his tongue. "As much as I wanted to, and this mission could go better with codes, you probably want this information quick. What little I could find about Daniel Shaw is not nice. Why's he after you?"

"To try and hurt someone I know and someone he wants revenge against, I guess," Damian responded with a shrug. Mozzie refused to enter the house so they sat at the white outdoor table and chair the Burkes had.

A piece of paper contained the address for the location Shaw might be hiding out in. Mozzie held it out of reach.

"Are you going to take the Suit?"

"I don't know. I want to keep him out of this."

"I don't recommend that. At least let him know that you're going."

Damian could tell from the expression on Mozzie's face that he was getting anywhere near Shaw. "What do you know?"

"There's rumours that he's trying to recruit a team. And it's not a very nice team."

Shaw wasn't done with them then. "At least we have a chance to catch him."

Mozzie gave him the 'you're crazy' look. "And where's Mar'i in all this? Are you going to take her?"

A voice answered from above them. "Yeah. Are you?"

Mozzie looked up and his voice caught in his throat. Damian was certain it wasn't just because he was being treated to the sight of a 'v' neck running down Mar'i's front.

"Why are you still wearing that abomination of a uniform?"

Mar'i grinned at him from in the air, hair trailing purple through the sky behind her. Her uniform looked more like a purple leotard, with a 'v' neck down her chest like one of the old Nightwing costumes which never should have existed.

"You're Nightstar," Mozzie said in shock.

"Yep." Nightstar dropped to the ground, hands on her hips and grinning madly. She also completely ignored Damian's frustration at not getting his question answered. "And that's Red Hood hiding on the other side of the fence."

Red Hood's hood popped up over the fence. "I'm making sure you get home safely! Even if this isn't home!"

"Like we're going to stay in that place father is paying for," Damian grumbled.

"Nice! Stick it to the man!" Red Hood saluted him before ducking out of sight.

Mozzie was frozen.

"He means my father, not the 'Man' as in Government 'Man'," Damian informed the shocked little criminal.

"I can't like the Red Hood. He's horrifying. He cuts off people's heads!" Mozzie threw his hands in the air and was done. "I'm out." He made his way to the back gate.

"I'll call you if I need anything else," Damian said.

"You better." With his parting words said, Mozzie ducked out the gate and ran for his taxi.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

* * *

Peter had half expected this. He had come downstairs in the morning to find Damian gone. Mar'i helpfully explained that Mozzie had come through with the address for Shaw and Damian had disappeared. She was just as annoyed as Peter was.

"Mozzie's not picking up my calls," she complained.

"Do you really think he'll pick up mine?" Peter countered. He really missed the days of the anklet right now. A pleading look was sent El's way. With coffee in hand, she was the most pleasant of the lot.

"I'll give Mozzie a call," El said.

"Thank you Hon, I'll let Chuck know."

Chuck was just as unsurprised as Peter had been. He knew there was little they could do without the address that Mozzie had got them so he decided to let Sarah know and take a taxi to the Burkes.

"Here's the address," El said. She had written it on a piece of paper which she handed off to Mar'i.

"Hon?" Peter questioned as Mar'i wasn't an agent.

"Peter, this Shaw character sounds dangerous. Keller-level dangerous."

"El-"

"No. You might not have noticed but Mar'i has super-strength, fire powers-"

"They're not 'fire powers', they're 'starbolts'," Mar'i muttered in the background.

"-and she's able to fly."

"Some of those are not hard to miss," Peter responded. Even as they were talking, Mar'i's hair was flaming.

"So tell me why you have to go in."

"He could always stay in the van," Mar'i suggested. "He could watch over us while staying safe, it's the perfect place to be!"

"What van?" Peter questioned.

Mar'i put a finger to her lips. "I'm sure Chuck has one. If not, I have a substitute."

Peter kept his mouth closed, even though he was desperate to mention that Chuck was taking a taxi to get here.

* * *

The moment Peter entered his car, even before he did up the seat belt, Mar'i shoved another address in his face.

"This is not where Shaw is."

"No. This is your 'van'," Mar'i said.

"It's not safe in the van," Chuck pointed out.

"It is in this one," Mar'i said cryptically.

Peter had a feeling that Mar'i was sending them somewhere she shouldn't. "Are you going to get in trouble for this?"

"No. Damian should have thought of this before he ran off."

Chuck winced in sympathy for Damian having to deal with the fallout of his actions. Peter just shrugged and started driving. The address led them to an ordinary two story brick building. It was a set of apartments.

Mar'i led them up to the second floor, and the last door at the end of the corridor. Peter thought that something seemed off. It was an ordinary apartment.

"This doesn't look anything like a van," Chuck mused. Then his tone raised in pitch as he considered, "did you bring us here to kill us? Are you in on it?"

Mar'i gave him a flat stare which sent shivers down his spine. Then she pulled out a book from the bookshelf and pressed a code into the pin pad hidden behind it. The bookshelf swung out.

"Maybe I did bring you here to kill you," she commented as she slipped into the room beyond. Chuck could see that the walls were well insulated and dark, with lines of blue light glowing from inside.

There was a huge computer screen on the wall, connected to a large desk, plush chair and probably the second most powerful computer he had ever seen in his life.

"Nightwing," Peter commented, looking at the costumes displayed on the wall.

"Wall of weapons," Chuck breathed in awe. This place was awesome. "This place is awesome!"

"Welcome to the van for FBI agents with concerned wives," Mar'i said with a grin. She stood directly under the skylight for dramatic effect.

"It looks like a van," Chuck said, "but only if I got to design it and had unlimited space."

"This space is hardly unlimited," Peter said. "This is the apartment space next to the one we entered."

"Huh? There was only this apartment though?"

"The door was coated over and hidden, making it look like this is the last apartment in the row. It belongs to my father."

"Won't Nightwing mind if we use it?" Chuck asked. He was bouncing a little at the thought of meeting Nightwing.

"I think he's a little busy with other things than worrying about which safe houses I'm commandeering. Now, we have a Damian/Bryce/Neal to save so let's move!"

* * *

It was a little difficult, sitting in a chair made for a vigilante in a vigilante hideout while Mar'i and Chuck made their way to Shaw's hideout. Peter wanted to be out there with them and not in this probably illegal set up. However, he could see everything through the strange robot bug camera thing Mar'i had coded to follow them. They were also wearing earpieces so they could still hear each other when they talked. Mar'i was right about it being a 'van-experience'.

"I want on this network," Chuck said, referring to whatever their devices were connected to. "It's universal coverage."

"It's not universal," Mar'i pointed out. "But it is pretty good."

"Pretty good? My phone has no bars, in New York no less!, but I can still hear Agent Burke. Also, there's no static."

"Focus Chuck," Peter sighed. Ahead was the warehouse. It was a double story brick piece of work, crumbling and old. The lower windows had all been boarded up. While the upper windows were still intact, a window off to the side had been broken. Was it a sign from Damian or just old age of the building?

Mar'i took to the skies, showing off the flying power El had mentioned to drift up to the upper windows and peer in. Chuck pushed himself up against the wall and waited for Mar'i reconnaissance report.

"Either Damian's not here or he's been captured," Mar'i whispered through the comm. Peter manoeuvred the bug up near her head. The place looked abandoned with dusty old machines littering the floor. There was a small office mounted towards the back but they couldn't see inside it.

"Knowing Bryce, he's probably been captured."

"Do you want me to see if I can get a clear view?" Peter asked through the computer. It was the plan with the least risk. A lost camera bug was better than a lost life. Besides, Mar'i commented that there were other ones hidden on her person which could be activated if the one Peter was currently using died.

"That won't be possible," Mar'i said. "You can only operate the bug within a certain range of Chuck or myself. We're the ones sending it the connection to your computer."

"This is confusing," Peter sighed. He didn't like computers.

"We're basically the wi-fi to the bug's internet," Chuck said.

"Focus," Mar'i muttered. She thought she saw one of the shadows move. Was it just paranoia? "Agent Burke, can you switch the camera to heat vision?"

"I have no clue," Peter said. He toggled a couple of the options Mar'i had shown him before she left but nothing happened.

"Give me a second," Chuck said, tapping away at the computer strapped to his wrist. Mar'i and Peter were both surprised by its presence. How long had Chuck had that thing? At least it explained the Nerd Herd jacket he was wearing.

The camera switched to heat vision.

"I'm not seeing anything," Peter said with a frown. Wait. He squinted at the image, moving closer. "Is there a shadow moving in there?" The camera's vision was blackened for a moment as Mar'i grabbed it and dropped to the ground. "Mar'i?"

She cursed under her breath and spoke to Chuck. "That Intersect you have better be good." Moments after she said it, they were surrounded by people dressed like the stereotypical ninja in reddish-brown outfits.


	28. Chapter 28

 

There was fighting going on outside. Damian couldn't hear it but he didn't need to. Suddenly the men on guard seemed a little more alert and a little more tense. Maybe this was his chance. Although he was wrapped up in chains and left on the floor, the fools forgot to remove his clothing. Plus, they hadn't hurt him in order to keep him from pulling maneuvers like tensing his body to make it bigger. Rookie mistake. While they had intended to keep him from moving his hands, he just had to relax and the chains loosened a little. It gave himself more movability.

All he had to do was slip out the picks he had sown into his clothes and unpick the lock. The guard at the door was watching outside. Something had to be going on. Damian couldn't let it distract him. The chains were undone and he pounced. Quickly closing the gap between himself and the guard, he knocked the guard into the wall and punched him to the ground. The second guard was taken out with the first guard's weapon.

Damian was keeping this blade. He glanced out the window to see the tell-tale light and explosions of starbolts.

Cursing to himself, he slipped out of the door.

Chuck too? He questioned silently in shock as he spotted a familiar brown haired whirlwind taking out men left and right. Even though Shaw had to know about the Intersect, it seemed he hadn't planned for it.

"You took them all out," he pouted as he barely had a chance to take everything in before all the ninja were on the ground, unconscious.

Nightstar's hovering feet dropped to the ground and she crossed her arms, glaring up at him.

"What did you think you were doing?" she demanded in a loud voice before anyone else could speak.

"Look, this is my problem. I caused this."

"So?" Nightstar commented, hair flaring around her as she pulled herself up taller. "I know you like to solve problems yourself but it wasn't just your actions that led here! Shaw bothered Chuck too! Mozzie found this location!"

Chuck was staring the furious superhero in shock. He had enough sense to stay out of this. Peter's attempts to calm Mar'i down were falling on deaf ears.

Through gritted teeth, she finished with, "let. Us. Help, you stubborn man."

Damian was shocked at the open display of emotion. She was frustrated, scared for him and he knew that she only wanted to help. It was a trait that all Graysons seemed to share.

"I love you," he said to her, identifying the emotion that welled up at seeing her so ready to fight the world for him.

Nightstar startled, hands dropping to her sides. "This isn't the time, Damian."

In the background, Chuck was making a high pitched sound which sounded like a squeal.

"I know," he snorted. "But I said it anyway."

Nightstar wrapped him in a warm hug. Damian could hear Peter through the comm she was wearing.

"Not that this isn't nice and all but is standing among beaten up ninja with the cops on the way really the best time and place for this?"

"Fair point," Nightstar sighed.

"This was a waste of time anyway," Peter said. "Shaw didn't appear."

Chuck nodded in agreement, shoulders slouched.

"Not entirely," Damian pointed out as they started to make their way out of the warehouse. "Now we know who probably helped Shaw get out of CIA prison."

"Please don't say it was the League of Assassins," Nightstar huffed. She knew that it was and was not surprised when Damian confirmed it. "Great. I'm not supposed to have anything to do with them."

"Does that include me?" Damian asked.

Nightstar grinned as if it was obvious. "Of course. Not that Dad can stop me. Let's go get the League of Assassins."

* * *

Mar'i had no qualms about using the apartments belonging to her father. However, Damian insisted they either go back to Peter's or to June's. Both places were swept more often for bugs than this location.

"I'd rather the rest of the family doesn't learn what we know."

"But, they could help?"

"You'd think that," Mar'i said to Chuck. "But they're all as stubborn as Damian. They'll all try to do it by themselves, fighting each other along the way."

So they packed up and made their way to June's. They seated around Damian's dining table, Sarah having joined them with El in tow. Casey paced around the apartment, looking over Damian's and June's books.

"How are we going to find Shaw?" Casey asked in his low growl.

"There's no 'we'. I'll do it," Damian said.

Peter, Chuck and Sarah all countered that statement.

"We just finished talking about how you shouldn't go off alone," Peter said.

Damian countered, "you can't go. Shaw is working with the League of Assassins."

"The League of Assassins is a fairy tale," Sarah said. "There's nothing to look for there."

"The League of Assassins is real," Mar'i said in a serious tone. "And, at the very least, Agent Burke won't be able to come."

Peter was about to counter that when El placed a hand on his arm to silence him. The League of Assassins sounded far above the paygrade of an FBI agent.

Damian decided to ignore how Mar'i gave an open invitation to Chuck's team. "Peter, I cannot guarantee the safety of anyone going on this mission." He turned to Sarah. "The League of Assassins has their hand in a number of deaths and control a great number of agents. People like Deathstroke have worked for them."

"Not 'like Deathstroke'," Mar'i muttered. "Deathstroke was on the payroll. He tried to kill my father."

"Honestly, Deathstroke doesn't need incentive to attempt to kill your father. Just like how Shaw doesn't need incentive to go after us. That's how the League works. They give resources or ignite vendettas." Damian gave Casey a curious look. "What do you think about the League of Assassins?"

"I've learnt not to question some things. A group of skilled assassins teaming up isn't the strangest thing to happen. Especially if they convince others to do their dirty work."

"I think my father had a couple of notes on them," Chuck mused. "Too bad I didn't have a chance to look into them before my mother blew all his research up. I remember them being prefaced with a warning to not look too deep unless I had to because they would hunt me down."

"If Orion thought that were a threat, then I guess they might be real," Sarah said.

El was clutching Peter's hand tightly. Peter was frowning, torn.

Mar'i smiled at them. "There are ways you can help without coming with us."

"It's probably better to stay out of this," El said. "However, you have to come back. We'll have a cake and invite the White Collar team to celebrate your success."

"Is there some way I can track you?" Peter asked.

"Ah! I know!" Chuck said, an idea forming. "Sarah once went deep undercover and we still found ways to communicate via signal beeps across phone networks."

Casey snorted. He obviously didn't think that would work here. Whether that was because they needed access to a CIA network or if because he didn't think Peter could decode a message like that, Damian didn't know. However, he had another idea.

Telling them to wait a moment, he snuck out of the apartment and down the hall to where he had hidden something under June's floorboards. It had to be outside his apartment because he hadn't wanted the FBI to ever find it.

He brought the object back and placed it in front of Peter, ignoring Mar'i's surprised gasp.

"What is that?" Sarah asked.

"Damian," Peter said in his warning tone.

"Take it."

"You know what this is?"

"Of course. I designed this model."

Peter raised an eyebrow but let that go. It seemed it was something he didn't want to know right now.

After all, Damian had just placed a Bat communicator in front of him.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do these stories end up so long? I swear, I don't intend for them to get this way!

 

El was not surprised to see Peter up. It wasn't too late as she had gone to bed alone only an hour earlier. It was obvious that Peter was worried about Neal and maybe even the rest of the team. Mar'i, Damian, Chuck and Chuck's team were on their way to the League of Shadows and Peter was watching their tracking data to see how the journey was fairing.

"They're on an airplane. Nothing's going to happen that high in the air," El tried to explain. Peter sighed and kindly decided to not reminder her that planes could crash. "There's nothing you can do even if they get into trouble."

"Neal- I mean, Damian trusts me to get information to Batman if something goes wrong."

"I'm sure information sharing can wait a few hours. Besides, Damian set it up so it'll send an alert if something happens."

Peter let her drag him to bed. El carried the computer with them, placing it on the beside table, although with the lid closed.

"You can check it first thing in the morning," she said with a fond smile. "You weren't even this bad with Neal's tracking anklet data."

"Because Neal was in a 2 mile radius," Peter responded as he curled up under the sheets. "And he still found a ton of trouble."

"Chuck and Mar'i will keep him safe."

"I'm not too sure about Sarah and Casey though."

El hummed in response, cuddling closer and closing her eyes. No alarms disrupted their sleep and Peter woke to new tracking information as the group made their way into desert.

* * *

Damian hated this leg of the journey. The sun stung his skin, his body was coated in a slippery and oily sheen of sweat and his legs felt stiff.

Mar'i was enjoying this. At least she knew not to flaunt her alien abilities at them but she was floating and basking in the sun and heat. Rather than being tired and drained, she was energetic. She bounced around on the ground and in the air, even doing flips and other maneuvers to burn off energy. Casey made a couple of jokes about shooting her for being so cheery but they all knew he would never get the shot off.

Sarah seemed to be doing quite well. It could just be her hiding how uncomfortable she felt, like he was, but she was doing a better job of it as she led the party through the desert.

Chuck looked like he would rather be anywhere but here and had moaned a couple of times about how he should have stayed with Agent Burke.

* * *

Damian had told them that he was getting someone to watch over the Burkes while he was gone. With that information, Peter believed he had spotted a red figure hanging around when he went to work. El was content to mostly ignore the figure, especially since the hair raising on the back of her neck was the only indicator that she was not alone.

It was creepy and she was beginning to understand why someone might not want to stay in a place they felt was haunted. Whoever Damian had gotten to watch them, they needed to be where El could see and interact with them. None of this watching from the shadows stuff.

El called Mozzie. He was reluctant to help and he was ignoring calls from Damian. He had only answered the phone when he saw it was her calling. Damian was part of the vigilante world and it was not a world Mozzie was fond of. People died helping vigilantes.

But people died helping the FBI too. With that, El managed to convince Mozzie to come to her place and help ferret out the person watching them.

"It's a woman in a red hoodie," Mozzie said when she opened the back door to let him in. "I bet if I pull out a gun, you can get her in here."

"Won't she attack you?"

Mozzie shrugged. He was here so he might as well go all in, right?

"No way. Just point out her hiding place to me."

"But then she'll know we've been watching her. It might not be as easy next time!"

"So be it." El wasn't going to back down. She stared at Mozzie, hands on her hips and trying to channel as much of her husband's influence she could into her gaze.

Mozzie pointed out where the vigilante was hiding and El walked over to meet her latest guard.

The hooded vigilante didn't seem to want to stay hidden as soon as El revealed they knew where she was. She let herself be invited in.

* * *

"What's your name?" Mozzie demanded to know.

The woman crossed her arms, silently conveying 'really?'

"Mozzie means your name when dressed like this," El said.

Mozzie shrugged as if to respond 'sure, that's what I meant' although sarcastically.

The woman grinned, face lighting up under her hood and red domino mask. "I'm Red Hood, the Arrow version."

"What's the other version?" El asked.

"Murderous."

"He's like an uncle to me," Red Hood responded. "So when I wanted to make my own name, I took his. My father was hoping that would help Uncle to quit."

"It didn't work."

Red Hood glared at Mozzie. "I'm aware."

El chuckled to herself. They were interesting together. It was good that Mozzie hadn't left yet.

"So you were assigned to watch over us while Damian and the group goes after the League of Shadows?"

Red Hood nodded. "Mar'i's a close friend and Damian's... Damian. If they trust me to watch over their friends, I won't let them down."

Mozzie was kind of impressed.

"How do you feel about them dating?" El asked.

There was a pause. El and Mozzie shared a look because she didn't know.

"Huh. They're pretty good together."

* * *

Peter had barely been in his office five minutes before Diana knocked on the door. She remained standing when invited in, although she locked the door behind her.

"You know something."

"I know a lot of things," Peter responded. It was part of his job after all. "Which thing are you talking about?"

"Neal Caffrey. Vanished from our systems and our lives overnight. You had one day of freak out and then nothing." Diana was grinning because she knew she was right. "You know what happened."

Peter didn't know how to explain this. Or how he could explain it. That Neal had been a spy? That Neal was associated with vigilantes and superheroes? That he was really the son of a famous billionaire?

"I know some," Peter responded carefully. "Enough to know that Neal will return only if he wants to." The time where Peter could arrest him was over.

Not that he would have any issue handing over Neal's case to the higher ups if it became apparent that he was breaking the law, outside of the vigilantism.

Diana raised an eyebrow. Peter shook his head.

"It's not my story to tell. I have tracking on Neal so I'll try and get him to explain as much as he's comfortable with to you when he returns." Diana was really interested now. Peter had no idea how to curb that enthusiasm. "I mean it, Diana. Stay out of it for now."

For a moment, Peter thought that Diana would refuse. Then she grinned.

"Whatever you say, Boss. Although it's nice to see that some things don't change. You still have a tracker on Neal Caffrey then?"

Peter rolled his eyes and kicked Diana out of his office.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I love me some stereotypical villain behaviour :)

 

 

Finally, as they approached the mountain range in the desert, they could see a castle built upon it. There was also a very obvious path heading up towards it.

"It's very eastern styled," Chuck commented. He hadn't flashed on it so he figured nothing on this location was in the intersect.

"We should climb around the side and sneak in that way," Sarah said. It would be more work to climb the sides of the mountain instead of taking the path but, "the very obvious path is probably a trap."

"True," Mar'i mused, floating along. "And I can ferry people most of the way up anyway. The League of Assassins has archers so I don't want to get too close."

"I can find us a tactical drop off point," Casey said. It wasn't difficult for someone with a background in being a sniper.

"No," Damian said. "We go up the path."

Everyone stopped.

"You've got to be joking," Chuck said.

"No way," Sarah said quickly.

"That's a terrible tactical move, Larkin."

Mar'i floated silently for a moment before asking, "are you sure?"

"At the very least, I'll be walking up that way. I want Grandfather to see me coming."

"Letting him see you out of spite is a stupid plan," Casey growled. "Better to slowly destroy his forces and mess with him until he jumps at every sound and doesn't even consider you're around until you destroy him."

"This is the League of Assassins. If that kind of strategy worked, they would be gone by now. They've gone up against Batman, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you put them in your firing range!" Chuck pointed out. He was distressed at the thought of Damian putting himself into danger.

"Damian, your Grandfather might let you walk up, because he wants to see your face as he kills you, but do you really think he'd extend the same courtesy to us?" Mar'i asked. "He's likely to kill us on the way so that you're completely enraged and out for revenge when you get up there."

Damian hated to admit it but she had a point.

"You know she's right," Sarah said when he didn't respond.

He glared at her. Yeah, Mar'i was. But she didn't need to rub it in.

"Do you really think you can make it all the way up without your grandfather killing you?" Chuck asked. He ignored their startled looks and waited for Damian to answer with a nod. "Then you take the path and we'll take the long way round."

It was a plan. Not a good plan but a plan nonetheless.

"Chuck," Damian spoke with long pauses, wondering if he should even ask this. But Chuck smiled at him and asked him what was bothering him so he had to continue. "My grandfather wouldn't expect me to come alone. Would you come with me? I know I'm asking you to put yourself in danger-"

"I'll go," Chuck said. Sarah gave him a horrified look.

"Go get yourself killed, Bartowski," Casey huffed. Damian was surprised that was worried about Chuck and cared about him getting himself killed; he wouldn't have commented otherwise.

Mar'i sighed. "We're going to need a more fleshed out plan."

* * *

Chuck kept his eyes out for anything flying their way. Damian was also alert but he was better at hiding it. At least bringing someone who acted like a beginner on the field would trick his grandfather into underestimating them.

"We're being watched," Chuck pointed up as they walked towards the giant doors.

"I know. Don't worry about them unless they take a shot at us."

Chuck glanced around again and started moving faster. Even through Mar'i was moving along the outer edges, ready to warn them should anyone fire, there was still a chance that he could miss something. Chuck would rather get inside quickly.

He stopped at the large doors, looking up as he pushed them in. They were twice his size and he needed to push with two hands in order to move them.

"Alright, we're in," Damian said as he walked past. He closed the door with one hand, showing off and Chuck pouted at the difference in their strength.

"Let's keep going," Damian said, knowing that Mar'i was bringing everyone else up outside. They would need to buy her some time.

They walked through the wide hall and into the room beyond it. A green carpet was thrown along the path towards where Ra's Al Ghul was sitting. Damian smirked as Chuck froze.

"A throne?" Chuck whispered. Damian felt like laughing. Chuck wasn't scared of the tall, angry man in the green cloak. He was confused at the throne said man was sitting on.

"Damian. I see you've graced us with your presence. What perceived threat have you linked to me now?"

"Daniel Shaw."

"You're just going to answer the question?" Chuck questioned in a quiet and high pitched voice.

"He asked," Damian responded with a shrug. He didn't see the harm in it, besides, they needed to keep Ra's talking. "Besides, it'd be quicker if he'd just hands over Shaw's location."

Ra's' frown lines grew deeper, making him look older. He stood up, light almost shining against his greying hair.

"I do not meddle with ' _agents_ '." He said ' _agents_ ' like it was a curse word.

"And yet you know he's an agent," Damian countered. "I wonder how. It's not like you to take interest in a random ex-agent."

"You forget your place, grandson. Should you continue with baseless accusations, I will show you who is right."

"Is he threatening us?" Chuck asked.

"He is," Damian responded. "' _Showing us'_  is basically a trial to the death. The correct one will win."

Chuck took a moment to process that. "How is that okay? That's archaic!"

Ra's ignored Chuck, although his eyebrow did twitch in annoyance. A warning to his grandson to silent his friend before he would do it permanently.

"I need a location," Damian insisted.

Ra's sighed and Chuck flinched, hand snapping up to his face before he consciously understood that a knife had been thrown at his face.

"Well, this is disturbingly familiar," he commented. It was, sadly, not the first time he had caught a knife thrown at his face. He kept the knife in hand because it might come in handy.

Ra's was surprised and Damian grinned smugly.

"A location," he repeated. "Shaw left a trail a mile wide. Do you really think I'm going to be the only one to figure it out? I'm just the fastest."

Ra's huffed and sat back on his throne. With a wave of his hand, doors at the sides of the hall burst open.

"Come on!" Chuck huffed at the sight of at least ten ninja. Five from each door came rushing forward at the silent command to kill them.

Chuck threw the knife at the hand of a ninja with their sword already unsheathed.

Damian pulled out a whistle and blew.

Mar'i came bursting through the window with Sarah in her arms. Casey came slipping in the front door, firing off shots into random ninja. They kept fighting, even with bullets in non-vital places.

Chuck flashed and fired tranq darts into anyone who started coming their way. Then he ended up having to ditch the gun and fight close up as two determined ninja closed the gap to attack.

Damian had pulled out his collapsible sword; he didn't need a gun, and took out the three people attacking him with sword to the hands and kicks to the gut. Mar'i actually swooped in and took one of them out but Damian tried not to be too sore about that.

It took a little over five minutes and all the ninja who had attacked had been taken care of.

"Okay, location now!" Mar'i said to Ra's. "Or this whole place gets blown up!" She held up a remote.

"Why do I feel like we're the bad guys?" Chuck questioned. He knew about the plan to plant explosives but it was still something to hear this woman threaten a thin, evil old but dignified man. What would he do?


	31. Chapter 31

 

Ra's settled back into his throne, looking down on them.

"Resorting to base threats, Miss Grayson?" he questioned.

"With you? Always."

"True strength is more than threats. It is the power to back it up," Ra's informed her as if he was a teacher and she, his student. "Which of you has the power to gain the information through strength?"

"What is he saying?" Sarah asked Damian.

"One on one combat," Damian responded, glaring up at his Grandfather. There weren't many people who could beat him in combat. Damian figured he only had half a chance of beating him. "We have to fight him for the information."

"Okay," Chuck said, stepping forward with the intention of fighting Ra's. Damian jumped forward and threw up a hand to keep Chuck from going ahead.

"Your odds of winning are seriously low."

"'Never tell me the odds'?" Chuck quoted.

Damian narrowed his eyes, although he did appreciate the quote. "I'd rather you didn't die."

"And I would prefer to fight my grandson," Ra's announced. He smirked at Damian. "Should you win, I will tell you where to find the man who attacked the Butler."

"I want Shaw. And the man who attacked Alfred, if they are separate people."

Ra's frowned. "I am disappointed in you, Damian. You are not making these demands from a position of power. Why your mother-"

"Could never rise above you so don't hold her up as a shining example," Damian responded.

"You're not seriously going to fight him, are you?" Sarah asked.

"Of course I am. Ra's might be an assassin but he does keep his word."

"Isn't that a great idea," Casey commented and Damian couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "You're going to get yourself killed. Again."

Mar'i 'helpfully' added, "it doesn't matter if he doesn't stay dead."

Damian didn't dignify either of their comments with a response. He stepped forward to challenge his Grandfather, taking a blade off the ground to use.

Chuck's mouth dropped open at the resulting fight. Blades clashed in clean and controlled manners. They often crossed in an 'x' shape, neither man willing to let the blade fall. They stepped away numerous times; although there was one time Ra's jumped forward and thrust towards Damian and Chuck thought his friend would be impaled.

He had underestimated Ra's. Despite being old, the man could fight with the best of them. Even the Intersect had trouble keeping up.

* * *

They had been clashing for around a minute when Mar'i stood up and fired a starbolt upwards.

"What the-" Sarah started to question before a charred and broken bow dropped down from above them.

"Watch for the assassins!" Mar'i told them, jumping from the ground and into the sky. "They'll try and take Damian out before he can win!"

Casey pulled his gun and fired on the assassin on the other side of the room, who had been setting up his own shot.

"Finally, some action," he said, shooting another two as they pulled their knives.

"When did they get here?" Sarah questioned, looking around at the two climbing in through the windows.

Chuck fired a tranq and only winced as one of the assassins dropped from the windowsill.

There was a grunt from the duellists. Damian stabbed his blade through Ra's hand, pinning the man against the wall.

"Did he win?" Sarah asked as the assassins backed off.

* * *

"Let's not tell Peter about the stabbing people in the hand thing, okay?" Damian suggested on the flight back to America.

"Okay. If you tell me where you learnt to fight like that."

"Where do you think?" Mar'i said, leaning on the back on their chairs. She was sitting behind them. She claimed she had done it so that they could catch up. But now she was butting into their conversation. "That was his Grandfather."

"The fact that I am related to that man will forever stain my existence."

Mar'i pet his head. "There, there. There are crazies in everyone's family. You just have more than most."

"Who's the crazy in your family?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, my aunt. And I have a great-great-many greats uncle who is an immortal assassin and who wanted my dad to take his place."

Damian growled under his breath. Although he had forgotten about the crazy in Mar'i's family tree.

"Family doesn't mean much. The greatest villain could have the greatest hero for a child or vice versa."

"It's unlikely though."

"Your family is insane," Sarah said. "And I say this while having the spy legend, Frost, as a mother-in-law."

"Frost is Chuck's mother?" Damian said in surprise. He had heard about Frost. She had been the fight hand person of Volkoff and ex-CIA. It was a good thing the flight was long because so was the story of what Chuck had been up to during the time Bryce was 'dead'.

* * *

Peter breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the dot heading back over the ocean. Hopefully this meant that Damian was returning with answers. He glanced down at Neal's desk, which had been sitting empty since Damian had joined White Collar, right in time to see a big business man walk into the office.

Hughes was in Peter's office in an instant.

"Burke. You deal with him."

"Sir?"

"That's Bruce Wayne-" Hughes stopped as he saw recognition dawn on Peter's face. This was Neal's, Damian's, father. "So you're dealing with him."

Peter suppressed the urge to groan and went down to greet the businessman. Bruce Wayne's hair was slicked back, a lot like Neal's had been, and he seemed open and friendly to the casual observer. Except, Peter was not the casual observer.

"Mr Wayne. What brings you to the FBI?"

"Where's my son?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "This isn't missing persons."

Bruce's expression turned cold for a moment before relaxing back into the conman grin. "Of course. Silly me. I was asking about Damian Wayne. My youngest who was working here under the guise of a conman."

"I have no clue who you're talking about," Peter responded. "You can check out records, we haven't had a conman working here." Peter felt a little touch of amusement as Bruce realised that erasing Neal's record had backfired on him.

"I see. Perhaps I should find a new PI," Bruce muttered before ducking out of the office.

"You know he's going to come back," Jones said. He was as good at reading people as Peter was.

"Probably. But he'll be Damian's problem then."

* * *

"Agent Burke!" A man with black hair and blue eyes called out in the carpark. He came running over with a worried expression. "Sorry to bother you but you wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Damian Wayne, aka, Neal Caffrey, would you?"

"Which Wayne are you?" Peter asked because there were apparently a more than a few of them and, while he knew their names and a little of their histories, he didn't know their faces.

"Dick Grayson." The eldest then. "Look, we're a little worried that Damian might have gotten wrapped up in something dangerous."

"He's fine. He has people with him."

"He does?" Dick seemed surprised at that news. "It wouldn't happen to be a girl with purple tinted hair, would it?"

"Mar'i? Yes, she is part of the team Damian took with him. They left me here and out of the loop because I'm only an FBI agent and I have a wife to protect. So, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go home to my wife."

"Of course," Dick said, although he was baffled by the notion that Mar'i had only been a part of the team Damian took. "I expected Mar'i but he took other people?" The comment was obviously a ploy to tease more information from Peter. He ignored the question as he got into his car.


	32. Chapter 32

 

Peter and El made their way to the airport, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be following them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Peter asked. El was providing cover by flying across the country to see an old friend. It had been Mozzie's idea to give them a reason to be at the airport. El's departure would hide Damian's return.

El reminded him that the tickets Mozzie had given her were also a gift and that she was looking forward to seeing her friend again.

"He even got me the week off work. I'm going, Peter."

Peter nodded his understanding and made a mental note to not ask again. El seemed to actually be looking forward to this, not matter how much he was going to miss her and worry about her.

El kissed his cheek. "Make sure to message me about how Damian's going. I'm sure he could use someone in his corner, even if you don't like the company he keeps."

"Chuck's alright... for CIA," Peter countered, although it sounded weak. He didn't think the CIA was as terrible as some of his coworkers made it out to be; making the agents sound like heartless monsters, but he still didn't like the danger which seemed to surround being a spy.

"Peter?" a surprised voice said. El stepped away from Peter to let him move forward to hug Damian. "What are you doing here?" Damian questioned as he hugged back.

"Officially? Seeing El off on her holiday. Unofficially? Welcoming you back."

Sarah lightly laughed. "I know we're spies but you don't have to be that cautious."

It wasn't the novelty she thought it was. El and Peter said their goodbyes as she left him to explain.

"I was approached yesterday."

"What?" Sarah gasped.

"By who?" Damian demanded to know.

"Was it Shaw?" Chuck asked in a worried tone.

"Technically, I was approached twice," Peter added. "Bruce Wayne came to the office and Dick Grayson cornered me while I was going to my car."

"How's that being approached?" Casey snorted.

"Because both of them could take me down easily," Peter responded. He had his suspicions about them both. "They're acquaintances of both versions of Red Hood."

"Both versions?" Chuck mused.

"The Gotham mobster?"

"Red Hood is more than a mobster," Damian pointed out, avoiding Peter's statement. He suspected Peter knew more about his origins than he let on.

"This is bad," Mar'i sighed. "If Dad's here, then I'm in trouble."

Peter recalled something. "By the way, El might have mentioned your relationship in front of the Red Hood you had watching us."

Despite being on the ground, Mar'i seemed to drop to the ground in shock. Her hair flopped and her body seemed to shift, changing her centre of gravity so it was lower. "What?"

Damian looked around quickly. "Oh no. I'm so dead."

"You're dead? I'm going to be grounded!"

"Aren't you both adults?" Sarah asked. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Because our friends are overenthusiastic and his dad is a control freak."

"My brothers say they owe more than a few relationship break ups to my father," Damian said. "But, at the same time, Father owes a few break ups to us."

"Those women were gold-diggers," Mar'i said. "At least, that's what my dad told me."

"So what will you do?" Sarah asked them.

Damian reached out and took Mar'i's hand, holding it while he stood next to her.

"I guess we'll have to reach out to Red Hood and see if she's told anyone. Then we deal with those who know."

"Is it really going to be that simple?" Chuck questioned.

Damian grinned. "Nope."

* * *

Red Hood climbed down the last few steps of the fire escape ladder and dropped into the alleyway. Across the street were two criminals, tied up in nets which had been fired down from above.

The hair on the back of her neck tingled and she jumped back, pulling the drawstring back and pointing an arrow in the threat's face.

Alert and skilled. Damian always admired that.

He melted out of the shadows. There was a loose grin on his face and a black domino mask covering his eyes. He was dressed in an unadorned black vigilante suit. It was the best option for tracking her down. Even if it did take Red Hood a moment to recognise him.

"Robin?"

Damian snorted. "I don't think I'm dressed bright enough for that."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, what else am I supposed to call you? No real names in the field remember?"

"Oh! I know!" Nightstar said, floating down to hover just above them. "Remember what Ra's called you after you defeated him?"

"No?" Damian responded, although he did remember. His grandfather just had to have the last word, stating that it was a shame that Damian was too much like his father.

"He called you 'the Son of the Bat'."

"That's a mouthful," Red Hood responded, thinking. "What about 'James Bonds'?" Then she burst out laughing. Obviously, she thought she was quite smart for looking through Neal Caffrey's files.

"It's not a bad name." Damian smiled, thinking about Peter. The name had somehow managed to encapsulate his past as Bryce Larkin and his current time as Neal Caffrey. He had loved it when Peter finally told him the code name his case had been given before the identified him. "How about you don't call me anything?"

"Sure, Son of the Bat."

"Whatever you say, Bonds."

Damian groaned. How had he ended up with this group? Where was Jon when you needed him?

Actually, scratch that. Superboy would take the edge off Damian by taking it on himself. He didn't deserve that.

* * *

It was simple enough to convince Red Hood to not tell anyone that they were dating. She was amused enough watching them go about their nightly duties. Nightstar floated around the streets, leaving them for stretches of time to patrol other areas of the city.

Damian made his way to one of Neal Caffrey's safe houses. It had all the equipment he would need to break in at another criminal's safe house.

The safe house was in one of the older brick neighbourhoods. The kinds where mothers and fathers raised their kids in New York and the buildings didn't tower four stories above the street.

Damian perched himself on the roof of the building across from where Shaw was apparently staying.

"I would have liked another couple of days to scout this place out," he lamented, "but the longer we take, the more chance of someone like Chuck stumbling in."

"Or the family," Mar'i added, imagining all the bats descending upon this neighbourhood.

"Chuck actually knows the address. I think there's more chance of him turning up."

"So, what's the plan?" Red Hood asked.

"The plan doesn't involve you, so none of your business."

"I'll just break in myself then." As Red Hood moved to leave, Damian grabbed her shirt and pulled her back down.

"Fine. We're breaking in. But smart."

"Uh-huh."

Damian pointed to the second story window. The building was only two stories tall, like all those around it. "There's less security on upper floors, so that's our point of entry. Nightstar's going to hold me as I pick the lock."

"Uh, how?"

"By his ankles," Nightstar responded with a grin. She knew it was perfectly safe and that Damian could pick the lock with his eyes closed so of course he could do it hanging upside-down.

"You can stand on the building's roof and be our lookout," Damian said. "Actually opening the window to break in will be when we're most likely to be spotted."

"Got it, Bonds!" She even gave him a little salute.

Damian rolled his eyes. He knew asking her to stop wouldn't work so he focused all his frustration on the mission ahead.


	33. Chapter 33

 

The plan worked well. They slipped in without setting off any alarms; human or otherwise.

"This is easier than sneaking into Uncle Roy's safehouse."

"Who would sneak into that dump?" Damian muttered. Roy was well known for collecting scrap and bits to make his inventions. Damian thought calling it a dump was accurate since all the stuff laying around and collected up made it look like one.

Nightstar ignored his comment and floated down the hall, checking around the corner for any sign of people.

"You know, if your Grandfather was really as good as he said, he would be able to tell us exactly where Shaw is hiding," Red Hood pointed out. She opened a nearby door and glanced inside. Then she closed it with a shake of her head.

Nothing of interest in there.

"Okay, maybe he's downstairs," Damian theorised. It would make sense, it'd be easier to escape out of a window or something from the ground floor.

Nightstar held out an arm to stop them. Damian gave her a curious look but listened. Nightstar floated over to a room and threw the door open, a purple starbolt lighting up in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed quietly. Damian ducked around her, finding Chuck on the ground and looking up in shock while Peter stared Nightstar down.

"Why am I not surprised?" Peter countered. "I told you to stay put, Damian."

Damian shrugged. "You should know me better than that."

"That's actually why we're here. Peter said you wouldn't wait and so we should deal with Shaw as soon as possible."

Red Hood snorted a laugh. "They've got us there."

"Hello again," Peter greeted her. She greeted him back.

Chuck was still in shock. "It's one thing to know someone's a superhero but another thing entirely to see it. Where do you keep everything?" he asked Nightstar and Red Hood.

"Pockets," Red Hood answered.

"There's not really much I need," Nightstar pointed out. "But I have secret compartments." Damian knew that most of the compartments were in her shoes. The costume was based off her father's Nightwing costume and he had secret compartments in the same spot. Although, Nightwing had complained about the lack of pockets a few times in the past.

"Okay, since you're here, we might as well work together," Chuck said. "Any luck finding Shaw?"

"Do you think we'd be here if we had?" Red Hood commented with a grin.

Damian rolled his eyes at her. "No," he told Chuck. "We think he might be downstairs."

"Makes sense," Peter said. "Do any of you think you can find a way through this floor? The element of surprise is our best weapon right now."

"I'm sure we can think of something that'll work," Red Hood said smugly. She had a number of trick arrows in her quiver that she was thinking of trying out.

"Did you just suggest blasting through the floor?" Damian questioned.

"It's a good idea," Nightstar said before Peter could respond. "A small hole will allow for us to send down one of your cameras and then we can make a bigger hole to slip through if there's no one there."

"The noise might warn him!"

"Casey's watching the back exit and Sarah's got the front. Mozzie's in the van, watching the cameras in case he still manages to slip through," Chuck explained.

"That's a good set up," Red Hood mused. She grinned at Damian. "Why didn't you let these guys join from the beginning, they're useful."

Damian glared at her. "Because we don't have time to deal with the CIA and FBI. We don't really have time to talk here. Let's just catch Shaw and get this over and done with before Father finds out."

"I guess Batman jumping in would be annoying."

"Batman!?" Chuck gasped in surprise. He grinned at Damian. "Does that make you Robin?"

"At one point in time, I was, yes," Damian responded.

"He hasn't been in the game for a while," Nightstar said. She had used a starbolt to burn a small hole in the floor, which Red Hood dropped a buttonhole camera attached to a piece of string through. "Not since the spy stuff became a thing. It makes sense, they're similar jobs."

"Uh, no," Chuck said in an offended tone. "We don't get cool hero names and costumes."

"Your mother is Frost and your father was Orion. You don't get to weigh into this argument," Damian countered.

"All clear," Red Hood said. She pulled out another arrow and used it to pry up the floorboards while Nightstar burnt away whatever was needed to make the job easier.

"Your father went by Orion?" Nightstar questioned as she worked.

"Yes."

"There's an Orion helping out the Justice League. I remember Dad saying something about how no one knew who he was. Except maybe Batman."

"Father does make it his business to know everything," Damian said. The girls had made a hole big enough for a body to slip through. He jumped down.

"You've got to be kidding. Don't go running off now," Chuck said, as he climbed down, stumbled and tripped.

Nightstar giggled as she floated down, carrying Peter. Red Hood climbed down but didn't stumble.

* * *

Shaw had been typing away on his computer. He needed to keep that awful assassin he had aligned with happy. The man gave him the chills but he was willing to work with the League to achieve his goal. He was going to destroy Chuck, starting with the man who started it all, Bryce Larkin. Who knew the cold super-spy had a family?

Something creaked behind him and he was on his feet, instinct controlling most of his moves as he dashed forward and tried to escape. He hadn't expected to run into a large group of people. Bryce Larkin shoved him back, looking ready to murder him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Chuck Bartowski," Shaw said, stepping back.

Ignoring Bryce just seemed to make him mad and Shaw felt giddy and the man's eyes turned hard.

"Shaw. Time for you to go back."

"You would really put me back there? The very place you tried to avoid for years? Do you know how much work you put the CIA through by pretending to live your life?"

"Chuck didn't commit any crimes," Bryce said. "You did."

Everyone flinched as there was an explosion. The wall next to the door was blasted in and Nightstar stepped through the hole.

"Well, that's better. Now we can take you out," she said to Shaw.

Hopping in behind her, Red Hood commented, "take him out where? I thought you were dating Bonds?"

"Stop calling me that!" Bryce said to her. Peter snickered, instantly catching the reference. "I better not hear this around the office!"

"You will," Sarah pointed out. "Now that he knows it bothers you."

"I didn't even know a nickname could annoy you," Chuck said.

Shaw had no clue what they were talking about. However, it didn't matter. Red Hood was on him in moments with Nightstar right behind. To his credit, he did parry a couple of blows before some kind of gas went off in his face and he knew no more.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to finish this story next chapter.   
> We'll see if I manage that.

 

It was only after Damian was faced with the unconscious form of Shaw that he realised something.

"Who's going to arrest him?"

The group shared looks. Both Nightstar and Red Hood knew that they couldn't really do it. All they could do was drop Shaw off with the police. With what they knew about Shaw, that wasn't a good option.

"The CIA had original custody," Peter said, motioning towards Chuck. "They can take him."

"Really?" Chuck questioned in surprise.

"Why do you think I had Casey come and wait in the van?"

Damian couldn't shake the picture of a scowling Casey, forced to wait in the van by orders of an FBI agent. His face would probably look like he had swallowed a lemon.

"Casey's in the van?" Nightstar questioned with a grin. She could see Damian's shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh.

Peter nodded. Chuck was starting to look a little pink now with the effort it took to not laugh.

"I have no idea who this 'Casey' is but maybe we should deliver this guy to him?" Red Hood said. "Maybe before the Bat Family find out about him?"

"Shaw better hope the Bat Family doesn't hunt him down," Nightstar commented.

Damian was rather offended. "What does that make me then?" he muttered under his breath.

"At this point, you're operating as an agent. I guess you get to decide if you're FBI or CIA tonight."

"Not an FBI agent," Peter reminded Nightstar. He placed a hand on Damian's shoulder. "Although we'll take him as a consultant."

"Hmm, I don't know. I was a team leader in the CIA."

"Of what team?" Sarah commented. "They all betrayed you."

"You didn't."

That simple statement had her go silent and pleased. Nightstar grabbed Shaw and dragged him along the hallway as they walked towards the exit. Chuck grinned and looped an arm around Damian's shoulders.

"Alright, buddy! Now, you have to tell us when a new superhero thing comes up," he said.

Damian rolled his eyes.

"Chuck! I'm not going to Gotham!" Sarah scolded. "And neither should you."

"But, Batman-"

"Has horrible people skills," Damian said.

"Worse than Casey," Nightstar pointed out as she heaved Shaw over her shoulder and floated outside to the person in question.

* * *

Damian appeared in the White Collar office, ready to sign and finalise the paperwork for his consultant position.

"I couldn't argue any more money for you," Peter said as he passed the contract to Damian. It was more than what he received as Neal Caffrey but still not really an acceptable rate for someone with his skill set.

"That's fine. I'm not working here for the money anyway," Damian said as he signed off on it. He could always find jobs testing security or freelancing as a spy anyway.

"Yes, I assume it's partly to make your father angry and partly because you enjoy it here."

Damian raised an eyebrow but didn't correct him. Peter was right after all.

* * *

Mar'i walked in around lunchtime. Her hair was braided with a purple flower clipped right behind her ear. More than a few agents held their breath as she strode in. Someone had spread images and videos of Mar'i's mother from her as a model. They could all see her mother's genes in her.

"Hi," she said as she stopped in front of Damian's desk. Damian frowned at her and she responded with, "not the Grayson you expected to see, huh?"

"It's a little strange that neither Grayson nor father have appeared," Damian mused. "How's Alfred?"

"I was there as soon as visiting hours started. He's doing fine. The doctors are thinking about letting him go tomorrow, if this afternoon's tests all come back steady or improved."

"That's good," Damian said with a small smile. "I'm sure the only reason Alfred hasn't signed himself out against medical advice is because he's trying to set a good example."

Mar'i nodded in agreement. "Feel like lunch?" she asked with a blinding grin.

Damian sighed and a few agents stared in wonder. How could he not smile back when faced with such a smiling beauty?

"Sure," he finally said.

Chuck smiled and waved from the table the hostess was guiding them to. Damian glared at Mar'i. She had implied that they would be alone.

"I never said we were having lunch alone," she said, as if she could read his thoughts.

"Hi Chuck," Damian said with a sigh as he slipped into his seat. "How's Sarah?"

"A little shaken after last night. She and Shaw have a mixed history and she really didn't like the idea that he was free. Or that I was in the same room as him."

"Make sense," Mar'i said.

"I mentioned that I had three superheroes watching out for me but that seemed to worry her more. Something about capes making things escalate?"

"Lies and slander," Mar'i huffed.

Damian counted. There had been Nightstar and Red Hood last night. "Who was the third?"

Chuck grinned at him. "You, of course. I mean, you may have vanished years ago but that doesn't mean you stopped."

Damian groaned. When had Chuck figured it out? "And who have you mistaken me for?"

Chuck's smile turned fond, as if he expected this. "Robin. Like your brothers before you. By the way, I'm not fighting Bruce Wayne."

"It'd be interesting to see if the Intersect can defeat the Batman," Mar'i mused.

Damian nodded in agreement. Although he had a feeling that he already knew the outcome of that battle. "I don't think the Intersect can win though. Especially since Batman somehow has files on the Intersect. Found them the last time I hacked into the batcomputer."

They stopped talking as their food arrived. Mar'i picked up her fork and speared a piece of penne pasta. "I'm guessing they came from Orion."

"What?" Chuck and Damian questioned in unison.

"Remember how you suspected Orion was the spy Mozzie had worked with?" Mar'i said between bites. "Well, that wasn't the first time I heard that name."

"You said that there was an Orion working with the Justice League."

"Do you think that Orion and my father are the same people?"

"If that's true, your mother's going to kill him."

"Probably why he's still in hiding," Mar'i pointed out with a grin. Chuck and Damian weren't impressed. "No?"

"No," Damian said.

"There must be a reason though," Chuck mused. "Unless he just forgot that it might be safe to come back."

"Your father is more paranoid than Mozzie. He's never going to think it's safe to come back."

Mar'i listened as Chuck and Damian talked about theories and rumours about Orion. The subject moved from that to superheroes and how they worked to the CIA and FBI and the differences between them. Along with a sprinkling of game topics throughout the conversation. Apparently, flying was not the same as web-slinging, even if she could take them flying and they could only experience web-slinging in a video game.

* * *

Peter was surprised when it wasn't just Mar'i who Damian brought back from lunch. Chuck came in right behind them before making for Peter's office. Damian called out something about giving him a moment to rest before confronting Peter.

Peter wondered just what they wanted to confront him about.

"This better be about a case," he said as Chuck opened the door.

"Uh," Chuck said, stunned. Mar'i elbowed him out of the way.

"We need a favour, Agent Burke."

"Can we borrow your wife?"

Peter stared at them in shock. To his relief, Damian came in a moment later.

"You two really need to work on your explaining skills."

"Really?"

"You're going to tell us that, Mr. I'll-Send-Government-Secrets-With-No-Context?"

"We need El to contact Mozzie," Damian explained. "I don't think he'll pick up calls from me until Chuck's out of New York."

"I guess if El's fine with it?" Peter suggested. "It'll have to wait until after work." He had to admit, he was curious. What were they planning?


	35. Chapter 35

 

Mozzie realised he had been tricked when he entered the Burke residence. The air was too still. El was too happy to guide him to the table and sit him there with some food from caterers she needed tested.

That was his story and he was sticking to it. Even if he didn't fully realise he had been tricked until spies blocked the exits and entered the room.

Mozzie stared down Damian and Chuck while keeping another eye on Peter in one doorway and Sarah in the other.

"If you think I'm going to reveal anything while she's pointing a gun at me, you're mistaken."

Chuck and Damian turned in shock.

"Sarah!" Chuck said in a high voice.

Damian sighed. "We said 'no guns'."

Mozzie was surprised and pleased to see that his old friend actually stepped between Mozzie and Sarah, effectively into the firing line.

It was nice to see he wasn't 'all spy'.

* * *

Damian disappeared and then returned to work like nothing had happened. Everyone was just settling down when he disappeared again. And not a moment too soon as Bruce Wayne came back.

"He's not here Mr Wayne," Jones tried to say. However, Bruce would only listen to Peter.

"Where is my son?"

"He's in Gotham," Peter responded straightforwardly.

"Why?"

"Because Chuck asked him to go with him?"

Bruce turned on his heal and stormed out. The agents who had been watching exhaled as one, no longer holding their breath.

"That man seems more terrifying than he has any right to be," Jones muttered to himself, although Peter overheard and smiled to himself. If only Jones knew.

* * *

Chuck got out of the plane and looked at the sky. It was dark and cloudy. If someone had told him it was 5 in the evening and not 10 in the morning, he would have believed them.

"Thanks for the assistance," Alfred sighed from behind him as Damian helped him down the steps.

Chuck quickly set up the wheelchair he had carried out and held it still as the old man sat down.

"I hate feeling so useless."

"Nonsense," Chuck said before Damian could. "You told us where my father might be."

"Especially since all we got from Mozzie was that he was in contact with an 'Orion' working for Batman in Gotham, an address is much more helpful," Damian commented.

"And I'm sure bringing me back to Gotham fills you with joy at the chance to anger your father for being kept out of the loop," Alfred said with a smile. "Even if I did request it."

"Don't worry Grandpa Alfie!" Mar'i said as she took over pushing the chair from Chuck. "I'll take good care of you."

"Is someone with skin tougher than a human really the best choice for a nurse?" Chuck whispered to Damian.

"I'm sure Alfred will be fine. Besides, we all know first aid."

Chuck refrained from saying that wasn't much help in caring for patients long term. Especially since Damian's older brother was following behind him. Jason stalked behind them like a man out for blood. He seemed to take great joy in unnerving Chuck.

"There's the car!" Mar'i said, bouncing into the air. She hovered there as she waved. "Hi, Uncle Tim!"

"He only left a couple of minutes ago," Jason muttered.

"You're just jealous that she's happy to see him," Damian said.

"What was that?" Chuck said, looking around frantically.

"What?"

"That!"

The group tried to listen but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"If you're referring to the rumbling noise, it is most likely the sound of incoming planes," Alfred said. "If it isn't the rumble of thunder in the sky."

"Or it could be the sound of water rushing through the sewers," Jason pointed out as it clicked. Chuck was talking about the low rumbling noise.

"I think that's just the traffic," Damian said. "There's always a lot of it."

"It's just the way Gotham sounds," Mar'i said to Chuck.

* * *

Chuck and Damian said goodbye to everyone at the manor. Damian grabbed a bike and tossed Chuck a helmet and a set of keys.

"You take the blue one," he said as he mounted a red bike.

Chuck looked at the three blue bikes stacked in between two cars that were so fancy, it hurt to stare at them too long.

"Which blue one?" And he really didn't want to think about how much these bikes must have cost.

"The one in the middle. The intersect should help you if you have trouble riding a motorbike."

Chuck mounted the bike, wondering if he would. It wasn't the first bike he was going to ride but it was the first time he would be following someone to a known destination.

Damian was frustratingly right. The intersect actually did help him. Chuck's intersect flashed a couple of times; to keep the bike going, to weave the bike through traffic and even to keep balance after Damian had him bounce the bike over a spike trap.

Why was there a spike trap in the middle of this back road?

They eventually arrived at a large apartment building. It looked like every other apartment building, even if it was a darker version of something they could find in New York.

"The elevator's broken," Chuck noticed as they walked in. The sign was large and the whole elevator was taped up.

"Probably has been for years," Damian commented as he started up the stairs.

Chuck was tired by the fourth floor and very glad that this was their stop.

"Apartment 406," Damian said. He looked to Chuck. "Ready?"

"Nice of you to ask," Chuck said, knocking on the door. "But I'm beginning to get used to things like this."

The man who opened the door was thin and a little shorter than them. Both of them had met him at different times in their lives but they both recognised the thinning hairline of light brown hair and almost beady eyes which looked up to something. Or crazy. It could honestly be both.

Stephen Bartowski stared at them in shock, looking back and forth between Damian and Chuck.

"Hi Dad," Chuck said.

Damian waved. "Nice to see you again, Orion."

* * *

"How did you find me?" Stephen asked as he moved through the apartment, picking up magazines and computer components as he went.

"Mozzie and Agent A," Damian responded.

"What were you thinking, Dad? Mum thinks you're dead! So does Ellie! So did I!"

"I-I had to, Charles. They weren't going to stop coming, don't you see? Surely you see now?"

"He's happily married to Sarah and we missed it," Damian pointed out.

Stephen's mouth was open as he stared at Chuck.

"Yes, and we're quite happy." Chuck sighed. "Also Dad, I've never understood it. I've stayed with my family and friends. Morgan knows now and we work together in spying and at the Buy More."

"You're still at the Buy More?"

"Chuck does the impossible," Damian pointed out. He certainly hadn't expected Chuck to be able to stay in his low-income job. Either the CIA would have forced him out or he would have given it up for the 'glamorous' life of a spy. But it seemed that Chuck surprised them both in doing what they hadn't thought possible.

"...I think I'm beginning to see that." Stephen moved over to the kitchen and started boiling a kettle of water. "You mentioned your mother. I would like to know more. Would you like a tea?"

It turned out that Stephen Bartowski had been out of the loop of CIA affairs for a while. After joining forces with Mozzie and Agent A, he started working for Batman a while before meeting up with Chuck again. Then, after he had 'died'; some of Mozzie's best work, he started working for Batman full time. Which came complete with a position at Wayne Tech.

"Of course, I'm working under the name 'Jon Carmichael'. Your father's idea of a joke, I guess," Stephen said to Damian.

Damian shrugged. It could have been. Or it could have been a connection to Stephen's past, although a rather indirect one.

After Stephen told his side, Chuck caught his father up on everything which had been happening in his life while Damian sat there drinking tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: For those who might not have seen 'Chuck', the joke is that Chuck created the spy name 'Charles Carmichael' while spying. Morgan joined in later on, calling himself 'Michael Carmichael'. 'Jon' could be 'Charles' father (possibly 'Michael's' as well. Too bad Ellie never made herself a Carmichael name).


	36. Chapter 36

 

Damian shuffled through some papers which had been left on his desk. He was trying to figure out why they were there and who they belonged to. Then his phone rang.

"Mar'i, I'm at work," he reminded her.

"I know. But this is important. I just left my father, who's fuming by the way."

"Huh? Why?"

"He heard that we were together and so he had a 'talk' to me about how I'm a big girl and can make my own decisions, but not to date 'the son of Bruce Wayne'."

"Wow. That's kind of hypocritical."

"Yeah, for some reason, Papa has more issue with your heritage than you as a person."

"You'd think Grayson would find the taking you to play con with me as a bigger problem than my father being Bruce Wayne."

Mar'i silently agreed with him. Damian glared at the couple of agents listening his his side of the conversation.

"You know what? I think I have an answer. Do you mind meeting for lunch?"

* * *

Damian stood tall as he waited for Mar'i to arrive. What he had in mind made his stomach turn and he wasn't even thinking of facing his father or Grayson.

Mar'i stepped out of a taxi and his heart almost stopped.

"Is there somewhere to eat lunch around here?" she asked as she looked around. There were stores around but no sign of one serving food. Not even a restaurant.

"Just around the corner," Damian responded. "But that's not why I asked you to meet me here." He motioned towards the nearest jewellery store, hoping she'd get the hint while feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

"I don't think you're going to placate my father by buying me fancy jewellery."

"I agree. I am most likely going to infuriate him." Mar'i looked confused. "If you are alright with it, I was thinking of buying you the kind of jewellery that indicates a commitment to each other."

"Wait. Are you talking about an engagement ring? Or is it a promise ring?"

"The first one." Mar'i froze. "I am springing this on you, aren't I? I had been thinking and planning for a while but there was no time so-"

Mar'i started laughing and Damian gasped a moment later as she wrapped him in one of the tightest hugs he'd ever received.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"That's... great," Damian wheezed out. When Mar'i let go a moment later, he coughed. Her hugs were tight. "Now I know this wasn't the best proposal so maybe we don't need to tell anyone about it?" Or how nervous he was?

Mar'i grinned at him. "But I'm sure Peter and El will want the whole story. And maybe Chuck too, he strikes me as someone who loves a good romance story. And the Justice League."

Wait, what was that last one?

* * *

The White Collar office all cheered. Mar'i couldn't help holding up her ring as Damian slipped back behind his desk. Sadly, it wasn't out of the way as he was right there for everyone to talk to.

"I don't think you're going to get any work done," Peter said with a chuckle. He congratulated Damian warmly. "Come to dinner with Mar'i. El's going to be making those fancy little chickens you like."

"I wish I could but we're planning to tell our parents about the engagement tonight." Damian's stomach churned at the thought. He was mentally going through all the escape routes present in the Justice League's headquarters. While Mar'i could just fly back to Earth, he needed a better plan than 'fly into space'.

Peter gave a little 'ah' and actually looked worried. Damian suspected he had an idea just who they would be facing that evening.

"Are you going to be alright? I can't imagine her father being happy about her marrying a conman."

"Ex-conman. And he wouldn't have an issue with that. He has more of an issue with my father."

Peter seemed surprised by that. "But didn't your father-"

"Look after Grayson? Yes. That's probably the issue. He saw the way my father acted towards those who are important to him. My father is a good man but not very good at showing care. Grayson doesn't want that for his daughter."

"Why are you talking about Damian's father?" Chuck asked.

"Because Damian just got engaged," Peter responded a moment before realising who he was responding to. "Chuck?"

"What are you doing here?" Damian asked.

Chuck grinned. "Sarah sent my Mum a message and she cornered us and Dad today. I made my escape using the excuse of letting you know that we've booked flights for tomorrow evening."

"Wow. How bad was the reunion?"

Chuck made a face. It was somewhere between relieved and disgusted. "There's some kind of tension around them. I'm not sure if it's sexual or not and I don't want to know."

Damian couldn't help imagining Frost and Orion in a sexual situation. He shook his head in the hopes of removing the image. "Ew. Don't need the image."

"I know," Chuck sighed. Apparently, this image had been haunting him for a while. "Let's talk about something else. What's this about an engagement?"

* * *

It wasn't the entire Justice League gathered for this meeting. Nightstar; daughter of Nightwing and Starfire, called a select group to a 'meeting'. The roster included Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Batman of course. Nightwing was invited as well, even though he wasn't a full member of the Justice League.

Nightstar entered with Damian by her side. Damian was wearing a domino mask and one of Byron's suits. He had been out of the active community for so long that he didn't have an identity to use. He was too old for Robin but there was no other free title for him to take.

"I have an announcement to make!" Mar'i said, grinning wildly and with her feet not touching the ground.

"Let me guess," Green Arrow said, "you two are dating?" He had heard it from the young Red Hood, who was daughter to his ward. He couldn't help giving up the information in order to look smart.

Damian and Mar'i shared a look, grinning smugly.

"We were," Damian said. "Until this afternoon."

"You're engaged," Batman stated. He could see the ring and it was difficult for them to tell whether he approved or not.

Damian nodded while Mar'i showed off the ring. The room went up in cheers and congratulations.

"It's wonderful to be called here for a celebration, rather than an upcoming battle," Wonder Woman said. "Do you mind if we spread the news?"

"Not at all."

"I'd rather keep the ceremony private though," Damian said. "Especially since I plan to invite some of my friends."

"The FBI?" Batman said in a disapproving tone.

"And CIA."

"Charles is fine. The rest..." Batman trailed off, making it clear that he didn't approve.

"Good thing it's not your wedding and you aren't in charge," Nightwing said. "Give me a moment with your son."

Damian swallowed as Batman walked away. Nightwing glared at him, sending a chill down his spine. To Damian, this was more intimidating than the Batglare.

"Take care of my daughter or else," Nightwing said.

 _Don't ask 'or else what?', just don't ask;_  Damian kept repeating in his head. He didn't want to know any of the many plans Nightwing had for getting revenge should Damian hurt Mar'i.

"Dad."

"Starshine! Congratulations!" Nightwing hugged his daughter. Mar'i hugged him back, knowing full well the kind of conversation which she had interrupted.

"That went well," she said after Nightwing was pulled away by Superman. "See, they can't really react with everyone around!" Batman was in the corner, unreadable as ever while Nightwing was working the room and keeping a cheery expression.

"I'm spending the night at Peter's," Damian said. "The last thing I need is Batman and Nightwing coming through the window."


	37. Chapter 37

Damian set up with his communicator and phone on the table before him and quickly responded to each and every message sent. There were a lot of message to filter through as the news spread. Nightwing was involved in every corner of the superhero community and Nightstar had a similar charm which had her making friends with almost everyone. Some messages came from people Damian also knew and he was beginning to get a little shocked at the number of them. When had he gotten involved with so many people?

The news somehow reached Gotham, with Colin sending him a congratulations along with his 'finally' message.

"I have to wonder if this going to end well," Peter mused. "I mean, you're marrying a superhero."

"I'll be fine," Damian responded. He knew that Peter was worried but also that Peter was fishing for information.

"Are we going to become a stopping place for vigilantes now?" El joked.

"I don't want any vigilantes in here."

"I definitely qualify as a vigilante," Damian said out loud, a little too proudly.

Peter's eyes sparkled a 'got you' message while El made an impressed noise.

"Wait.  _Are_  you going to arrest me for that?"

Peter snorted. They both knew that the law didn't allow Peter to arrest Damian for that admission. "Nope. There's always someone dressed up as someone like Batman or Superman. Many will claim to be the real thing as part of their act. There's no way to tell who is and isn't a vigilante thanks to that."

Damian made a mental note to keep that in mind. Maybe he would pass the message to Lian since the cops were always chasing her. The mantle of Red Hood was not well liked.

"Do you mind if we ask which vigilante you were?" El asked.

"Allegedly, I've had experience as Robin, Nightwing and Batman. Just, don't ask about Batman." He wasn't a good Batman like Grayson or Father.

Peter looked a little shocked at that and didn't ask any more questions. El took over asking questions, mostly about holding an engagement party as soon as possible. She wanted to hold it before Chuck and his group left.

* * *

Everyone was impressed with how much El managed to get arranged in such a short time. El had borrowed folding tables from work and set them up in the backyard. The food was nothing fancy, just some platters she managed to pick up from different stores.

"I can't take all the credit," she said with a smile. "Lian helped. She even called in another friend to help."

Lian punched a fist. "That I did! It's about time you two tied the knot!"

"And the other friend?" Damian questioned.

"Hello," Jon said, dropping down from the sky all dramatically. His red cape, inherited from his father, fluttered in the wind.

Damian could hear jaws hit the ground as people took in the appearance of Superman 2.0. Jon took care of Metropolis while his father handled things with the Justice League and the farm he had 'retired' to.

"So, ah, you know Superman?" Chuck stammered to Damian.

"I thought you realised that."

"Come on, Damian, you know it's one thing to know it and another entirely to see it," Jon said smugly as he landed before Chuck. "Damian knew my father as well. Although Dad wasn't too fond of you at first."

"I don't think anyone was."

"What did you do?" Sarah asked.

Damian huffed. "Why does everything think that I did something?"

"Because they know you," Mar'i said. "Well, as you are now. And you were much worse as a kid."

"Meddlesome," Casey described Damian's personality. Damian glared at him.

"All we're missing is the tunes of Jeffster," Sarah commented, looking to change the subject before a fight breaks out.

Chuck snorted a laugh while Casey groaned.

"I'll happily celebrate without those two."

"But our part-timer is getting married. They should be here!" Chuck suddenly realised. "Oh! And Morgan to!"

"I'll invite the store to the wedding," Mar'i responded with a smile.

"Why not just have another party there?" Damian commented, half-joking. If they did have one, it wouldn't be much trouble for Mar'i to fly over and attend. He wouldn't go though.

"I'd rather not break Jeff's heart like that," Mar'i commented.

"As your secret boss, I'll arrange for the party to be next week," Chuck decreed. Damian smirked and shook his head. He was torn between wanting to be at that party because there would be video games and not wanting to see any of Chuck's co-workers.

"Sounds like a plan!" Mar'i responded. Then she went to chat with Lian, who was looking lost in the sea of strangers.

* * *

Ra's Al Ghul entered the party like an old TV villain.

"Oh great," Mar'i sighed. Lian reached for her arrows and Damian pulled out a collapsible staff.

"Where were you hiding that?" Chuck questioned in shock as Damian chucked the staff as him. Then he pulled out a collapsible sword.

"We're going to have a talk about weapons after this," Peter muttered to Damain before he stepped back. This was far out of his pay grade.

"Tell your people to sheath their guns," Ra's said, not the least bit intimidated.

Damian motioned for people to follow the instruction. Jones did so hesitantly, but he was the only one who visibly hesitated. It seemed Sarah, Casey and Diana had a feeling that Damian knew what he was doing. Chuck was glad he didn't have to put away his staff.

"What are you doing here?" Mar'i demanded to know, floating above the crowd with her eyes and hands glowing.

"Can't a grandfather congratulate his grandson on his impending nuptials?"

"No." Damian pointed his blade at her. "I disowned you and all that you stand for. Now leave."

"How rude. Your mother didn't raise you to act like that." Damian bit his tongue to keep from responding that his mother had barely raised him. "Damian, I have come to offer my sincere congratulations."

"And I don't want them."

"Unfortunate. I offer them anyway. Mar'iand'r will make a welcome addition to the bloodline."

Mar'i said something in a language none present could understand. Except Chuck, who flashed on what she said and gasped in shock while also looking mildly impressed.

"Well said!" a smooth voice said from the sky. Starfire floated down, hair flaming and body glowing with power. She floated was side-by-side with her powered-up daughter, ready to blast Ra's to kingdom come.

"I disagree," Nightwing said from the fence. No one could say exactly when he came to be standing there. Just that he was. "Who taught my daughter language like that?"

"What is going on?" Jones questioned in a high pitch. Diana looked excited by all the action, although she had moved to the far corner and out of the way of any violence.

"We're not happy about Ra's recent attack on our family," Nightwing said. "And turning up here, you have some guts."

Ra's tensed, perhaps sensing the gun trailed on him from behind. "I don't believe any of you have the guts to attack me in broad daylight like this. Not even you, Jason Todd."

"Don't push me," Red Hood growled. "Get out of here before Red Robin decides his time would be better spend opposing you at every turn."

"I've already arranged the destruction of one of your cells," Red Robin said. He appeared from the back door, holding a laptop in his hands. "And there goes another one."

"Where are they all coming from?" Peter asked Damian. Damian shrugged.

"I see that the dramatics are hereditary," Sarah commented with a sideways glance at Damian.

"We're not related by blood. I am my father's only blood son."

"Only blood  _son_  because his father also has has a daughter," Red Hood pointed out.

Ra's took the change on conversation as his cue to leave and turned on his heel, cloak flaring in the non-existent wind. The subtle sense of eyes watching them faded as the hidden ninja followed their master.

"Sorry to interrupt," Red Robin said to El.

"Can we stay for the party?" Red Hood asked.

"No!" Damian said as the same time El said, "sure."

"Too bad little bat. We're here now!" Red Hood laughed, taking off his hood to reveal the masked face beneath. "Anyone up for some cards?"

"Don't play with him, he cheats," Red Robin said.

"You're Damian's brothers. I suspect you all cheat."

Nightwing gasped and looked horrified. "I would never."

"You would," Mar'i said as she landed on the ground. "Where do you think I learnt to play?"

"This party has certainly gotten exciting," Jones commented.

"It's like a gathering of Neal Caffreys," Peter sighed, unable to relax.

* * *

Nightwing pulled Damian away.

"Look, I don't fully approve of my daughter marrying you," he said. Honestly, he didn't think he would approve of his daughter marrying anyone. "But, I can at least trust that she can judge your character for herself."

"And I reminded him that he already judged your character when he took you on as Robin," Starfire said. "You've only continued to make him proud since then."

"S-Star!" Nightwing stuttered, going red.

Damian felt his own face heating up. "I make you proud?" Even though he knew he did good things, it was mostly to make up for bad things. He never thought someone would be proud of what he did. Except maybe Peter but that was unrelated to his vigilante past.

"Of course," Nightwing said. "And I know it's a little late but you have my blessing to marry my daughter."

"Hey, Damian!" Mar'i called out, "Mozzie says that he can officiate the wedding!"

Damian excused himself to go and talk Mar'i out of a bad idea. Mozzie was a great guy; would probably be one of the groomsmen, but he was not going to officiate their wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I'm going to end this story there, on a fun little chapter. Damian won't be running anymore. Anyway, I'll be back sometime in May with a new story (taking a short break to hopefully put together a buffer; I'm tired of late nights).

**Author's Note:**

> Comment from K on AO3 on Unexpected Past:
> 
>  
> 
> _Anyway, I really do like that idea of Neal taking Kate to Chuck for protection, and pretty much inserting himself into everything that came after season 3 while dodging Peter, Deathstroke and the League Of Assassins and his family - all which further complicates Chuck's life. But I don't think I could write it. I've lost track of who Damian is, so I can't catch his voice; I'm years out of date. But I would still love to see this as an actual story so - if you're interested in writing it, or know someone who might be, I'd be glad to read it._


End file.
